Exposed
by PJOHoOHG
Summary: Imagine if everyone knew what Rose did. And why...
1. Trial & Error

**Chapter 1: Trial & Error**

**Rose's POV**

It was always a blissful feeling waking up next to Dimitri. I could get hit by a truck and still be happy as long as I was next to him. Even clothed it was blissful. The fact that he was staring at me as I woke up wasn't even creepy. Well, maybe a little.

"What, Comrade?" I sighed.

"You're beautiful when you sleep." Dimitri always seemed to know the right thing to say.

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment. You also said my hair was beautiful even after I looked like I'd been living in that alleyway for a week." I pointed out.

"It was beautiful." Dimitri smiled.

"You think everything is beautiful." I reminded him.

"And by comparison, you're the most beautiful." He smiled playfully.

I smirked. We could have played the beauty game forever, but we were interrupted by Lissa's other guardians and Hans bursting into my room.

"You know, there's this thing called knocking." I said. "And for all you knew, Belikov and I could've been naked."

"In that case, you would've been arrested naked." Hans shrugged.

"Arrested? For what?" I asked. "It's not like I killed a queen. Oh God, Lissa isn't..."

"Vasilissa isn't dead. But you're under arrest, and she's under suspicion." Hans pulled me up and handcuffed me.

"On what charges?" Dimitri practically growled.

"You're under arrest too, Belikov." Hans said as Lissa's royal guard handcuffed Dimitri.

He could've fought back, but we agreed that was a bad idea after what happened last time either of us was arrested. So Dimitri and I were hauled off to the court room, the room where I was pretty much convicted for murder until we found more evidence. We also found Lissa there. She wasn't in handcuffs, but she wasn't sitting in the seat the queen was supposed to sit in during courtroom situations. She was sitting in one of the seats that a criminal would sit in. With my father and Eddie.

"Rose!" Lissa immediately stood up when she saw me.

I walked closer and let her hug me, not able to hug back in my handcuffs. "What's going on, Old Man?"

"You have a fifty percent chance of going to prison for the rest of your life or being commended as a hero." Abe got straight to the point.

"But why? I haven't done anything! Lately..." I said.

"It's not recent. It's..." Lissa was cut off when our trial started.

Nathan Ivashkov was standing at the front of the courtroom, acting as the announcer. "Let the trial begin."

One of the older Moroi men looked over at Lissa, Dimitri, and I. "Do you have anything to say in your own defense?"

"Aren't we supposed to know what we did first before you ask for our defense?" I asked.

"Did no one tell them what they were charged with?!" The man shouted.

"Vasilissa and Castile have been informed, but we thought there would be time for their lawyer to inform Hathaway and Belikov before the trial started." Hans shrugged.

The man sighed. "Rosemarie Hathaway, Eddie Castile, and Vasilissa Dragomir have been charged with breaking Victor Dashkov out of Tarasov prison. And Rose Hathaway has also been charged with murdering Victor Dashkov as well as her and Dimitri Belikov being charged with aiding and abetting Victor Dashkov. Now, do you have anything to say in your own defense?"

Dimitri looked shocked and my mouth hung open. For once, I didn't know what to say. Not even a witty comeback.

"Sir, Rose would never murder anyone other than a Strigoi. Not even Victor Dashkov." Lissa sounded surprised at the murder part.

The murder was the one thing I hadn't admitted to her yet...

"I have a question." Abe piped up. "Assuming this were all true, why isn't Sonya Karp—er, Tanner, being investigated? She was with them at the time you say this crime happened."

"Mrs. Tanner _is_ being investigated, but unlike the rest of the suspects, she wasn't at Court when we received this news. Someone is getting her now." The man explained.

I couldn't handle the idea of everyone getting in trouble for events that were mostly set up by me. "Look, I admit to all the charges against me. But it was all my idea. I forced Lissa and Eddie to help me get Victor out of prison because he was my last hope to save Dimitri. Victor's illegitimate brother Robert was the one who saved Sonya from being a Strigoi, and I wanted to save Dimitri, so I released Victor and convinced him to find Robert for me. They escaped us in Vegas when we ran into Dimitri, but we got the information we needed to save him..."

"Rose..." Dimitri tried to get me to stop talking.

"No, this is my fault. When we were on the run from all of you we found them again, and they helped us find and save Sonya. They escaped again after we found Jill and they kidnapped her. When we found them, Victor tried to kill me, so I fought back. But because of Spirit's dark qualities leaking from Lissa into me, I went into a blind rage and killed him. I was hysterical afterward, so Dimitri and Sonya hid the body, dropped Robert off somewhere, and gave me a healing charm. This is all my fault, so don't blame them." I ranted.

The people in the courtroom stared at me, wide eyed. It wasn't until then that I realized my mother was among them. Lissa looked shocked by my admission.

"Miss Hathaway... we already had all of this information." The man said.

It was my turn to be shocked again. "How?"

Everyone in our group looked pretty shocked at that.

"You don't know?" The man questioned.

"Know what?" I asked.

"Your life has been made into a series of books. From your point of view." The man stated.


	2. Guilty, But Not Guilty

**Chapter 2: Guilty, But Not Guilty**

**Rose's POV**

"What?" I questioned.

"They were all published under the pseudonym Richelle Mead, but sometime within the last week, your life was published from your point of view. It was almost like a set of diaries." The man explained.

That was difficult to wrap my mind around. "Can I... see... one of these books?"

Everyone in our group but Lissa and Dimitri were looking at me as if I'd sold them out. Thankfully, I didn't have to look at them very long as Abe handed me one from his briefcase. As I looked at the cover, I immediately knew something was wrong. The cover had a picture of me in the background, and in front of my picture was a symbol I frequently drew in my real diary. The letters V and A were overlapping, symbolizing the Vampire Academy nickname I made for St. Vlad's. As I skimmed through the pages, I realized something. I'd written all of this word for word. In my real diary. I gaped and dropped the book.

"Rose? What's wrong?" Dimitri moved closer to me.

"This is from my diary. But I hide my diary..." I didn't understand.

"You keep a diary?" Lissa asked. "Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"Because it's for my personal thoughts, not something I'd share with even my closest friend..." I said. "How did they get my diary... My diary!"

I suddenly had to know the status of my diary and sprinted through the courtroom. Guardians tried to stop me, but their bulky figures were no match for my adrenaline fueled speed as I ran out of the courtroom, heading back to my bedroom.

"Hathaway, stop!" Hans yelled.

I ignored him and sprinted all the way back into my room. I maneuvered my way out of the handcuffs with a hair pin and searched under my bed, looking for the box I kept my diary in. I found the box and pulled out my diary.

"But if it's still here, how did they publish it?" I questioned.

"I'd like to know the same thing." Hans attempted to snatch the diary.

I fended him off. "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

"Hathaway, it's already been published! Besides, we can dust it for finger prints to find out who else has touched it." Hans pulled it out of my warm, living hands.

He had a point.

"So that's what you keep in the box." Dimitri smiled.

"I thought you two told each other everything?" Lissa questioned.

"We agreed to one secret each." Dimitri shrugged.

"What's yours?" Lissa asked.

"How many people I killed as a Strigoi." Dimitri said.

"Oh..." Lissa blushed.

"Back to the courtroom, now!" Hans ordered.

We were all in the courtroom again within five minutes, the Moroi counsel going over the situation.

"Alright, we've come to a decision!" Ariana Szelsky announced.

We all sat forward in anticipation.

"We declare all individuals involved... guilty. But they will not be prosecuted because their actions are justified by their means and accomplishments." Ariana said.

"In other words, they don't want this scandal to go any further than it already has." I smirked.

Lissa proceeded to elbow me.

"Trial dismissed." Nathan said.

The guardians uncuffed us and most people left the room, staring at us with curiosity.

"You broke into a high security prison, released your enemy, killed him, and lied about it." My mom said. "Rose, what were you thinking?"

"She takes after me." Abe straightened proudly.

"That's not a good thing." Mom glared. "I always hoped she'd break your family's tendency to break the law."

Abe deflated a little, but he still looked proud. "Who cares? Besides, I knew the entire time, and it hardly bothered me."

"You knew?!" Mom exclaimed.

"What would you have done? We agreed a long time ago that it was okay to break certain protocols, and I at least had a reason. What would you have done if Abe was in the same position as Dimitri? At the present time, you'd do the same thing I originally tried and put him out of his misery. But if Abe had been turned Strigoi when you were together, and you knew you could save him, what would you do?" I ranted before heading out of the courtroom. "And if it makes you feel better, I purposely picked a wig that reminded me of your hair during the break in at Tarasov!"

I didn't stick around for her answer. Instead, I stormed off and found myself sitting on the grass, staring at the wall Abe had once blown a hole through.

"So, I heard you were charged with murder." Mia surprised me as she sat next to me.

"I was convicted, but not prosecuted." I admitted.

"So, you really did use the intel I helped you get to break Victor Dashkov out of Tarasov. And then you killed him." Mia stared at the wall too.

"It was self defense." I said.

"And blind rage." She reminded me. "I read all of the books. I found them in one of the Moroi bookstores and couldn't stop reading them until I was done. I didn't sleep for three days."

"So you've known, but you didn't say anything until today?" I arched an eyebrow.

"I wasn't even sure if all of it was true. Did you really see Mason's ghost and get advice from him?" Mia asked.

"Everything in the books is most likely true. It was stolen straight from my diary." I said.

"So... you were a bloodwhore for a few weeks? For... Dimitri?" Mia dared to ask.

"Yes." I admitted cautiously.

"I actually cried during the parts when you were with Dimitri while he was a Strigoi. It was all sad and... tragic." Mia said.

"You have no idea." I sighed.

"Well... I now realize that I was an even bigger bitch than I remember. You were brutally honest on that." Mia changed the subject.

"It was a diary. Of course I was brutally honest." I smirked.

"Well, I've got to go. See you later Rose." Mia stood to go.

"See you later Mia." I said.

"Roza." Dimitri took Mia's place.

"Dimka." I greeted.

Dimitri looked dumbfounded. "Did you just... call me Dimka?"

"That's what your family called you. Does it bother you?" I looked at him.

"The nickname doesn't particularly bother me, but I don't want you to use it. It makes me feel like a child, and I'm not a child when it comes to you." Dimitri said.

"But it's okay for your family?" I smirked.

"They have multiple ways of making me feel like a child. Dimka isn't the worst." Dimitri smiled.

"But what nickname will I call you now? You call me Roza." I said.

"You already have a nickname for me. Or is Comrade just a word now?" Dimitri laughed.

"But you used my Russian name, Comrade. Comrade isn't a variation of your name. It's just something I associate with Russians." I whined.

"Roza." Dimitri chuckled. "Look, I came to find you so I could know if you were okay. Are you?"

"I'm fine." I sighed. "What did my mother do after I left?"

"She got a guilty look on her face before going back to her tough façade and excusing herself to leave. I think you got your point across." Dimitri smiled.

"And Lissa?" I asked.

"She asked me questions about Victor. You know, Victor is one of a few things you haven't explained to her. For instance, you haven't told her about Joshua and Angeline." Dimitri attempted a straight face.

"I really don't want to explain being proposed to by an old world, polygamist, Moroi colony member. Or his sister attacking me to prove my worth." I said.

"I thought you didn't like keeping secrets from Lissa?" Dimitri smirked.

"Joshua and Angeline aren't a huge secret like Victor. I'm just surprised Sydney didn't bring it up." I sighed.

"Who are Joshua and Angeline?" Lissa appeared behind us.

"Do you want to tell her, or should I?" Dimitri smirked.

"I liked you better when you were serious." I said.

"No you didn't." Dimitri chuckled.

Lissa waited expectantly.

"It's probably in the books." I grumbled. "Joshua was a Moroi boy from some backwoods Moroi community where they refer to us as the Tainted. They only liked me because they thought I murdered Tatiana. Joshua liked me in particular, and after misunderstanding my niceness, he proposed to me. I gave a list of excuses on why I couldn't, but the only one he believed was the one about not being ready. He's probably still waiting for me."

Lissa smiled. "And Angeline?"

"His sister. She nearly murdered me because she thought I was engaged to Joshua and it's a tradition for them to test the new family member." I sighed. "Sydney and Dimitri laughed at me."

Lissa looked like she was biting back a laugh herself.

"You wouldn't have thought it was funny if it were you. I barely beat her, and I'm physically WAY tougher than you." I said.

"I'm sorry, but you would think it was funny if it happened to someone like you." Lissa said.

I rolled my eyes. "I would be surprised Sydney didn't tell you, but she's only barely gotten over her idea of me being an evil creature of the night, so I can only imagine what she thinks of you."

"She does?" Lissa asked.

"She was barely willing to sleep when we were on the train together, and she only liked Dimitri's family when we were in Baia." I shrugged.

"You did so much when you were in Russia that you still haven't fully explained. You only described escaping from Dimitri and Galina, and meeting Abe. You left everything else out." Lissa frowned. "You've hardly even told me anything about when you two and Sydneywere on the run."

"Bad memories that I never wanted to relive." I shrugged. "I love you Liss, but I was barely able to write it down in a diary, let alone relive it."

"But I don't want secrets between us anymore. I didn't know you loved Dimitri until after he turned Strigoi, you almost scared off Christian back when I first started to care about him, and I didn't know you killed Victor until this morning." Lissa said.

"Rose!" A thick Russian accent called out.

I turned to see who it was and immediately paled. It was Denis.

"Rose!" Denis exclaimed as he walked up to us. "I thought you were dead."

"Rose, how do you know Denis?" Dimitri questioned.

"Who's Denis?" Lissa looked confused.

"I met him in Baia." I sighed. "He was one of the people who helped me track down Dimitri."

"Belikov! You really are alive!" Denis exclaimed. "Everyone in Baia will be excited to see you. They had your funeral and treated Rose as your widow."

"His widow?" Lissa stared at me.

"Like his widow. They treated me like his widow. I didn't admit to anything, but they jumped to their own conclusions about our relationship." I blushed.

"Sounds like the people of Baia." Dimitri grinned. "Let me guess, my mother treated you like a daughter and my sisters treated you like a sister."

"Actually, Viktoria probably doesn't like me very much anymore." I said.

"Why?" Dimitri questioned.

I sighed. "I found out that Viktoria's boyfriend got one of your other sisters pregnant, and he was hitting on me, so I made a deal with Abe to scare him away. She got mad at me and said she hated me. I would've stayed so I could work things out, but part of my deal with Abe was that I'd leave Baia."

"You know Rose, after you disappeared in Novosibirsk, we thought you died. It was hard to believe at first because of how good you are at fending off Strigoi, but we started to gradually believe it. And now here you are, safe and sound." Denis said.

"Honestly Denis, I wasn't planning on staying with you guys very long. I only wanted to stay until I found Dimitri, and technically I did." I explained.

"The way I hear it, he found you. And you barely escaped." Denis said.

"That's not the point." I sighed. "So, how's Olena? And the rest of the Belikovs?"

"They're okay, but they really miss you. They also want Dimitri to visit as soon as possible." Denis shrugged.

"I bet Yeva doesn't miss me." I snorted.

"Actually, she does. She says you were a great pack mule." Denis laughed.

Dimitri laughed with him. "Ah, Grandmother..."

"Rose!" Another familiar voice called my name.

I turned to see Joshua running towards me. "Oh God, no."

"Rose!" Joshua was nearly next to me.

I jumped behind Dimitri so Joshua wouldn't knock me over.

"Rose, it's so good to see you!" Joshua exclaimed as he staggered to a stop. "And you still wear my bracelet!"

I realized I actually was wearing the bracelet he gave me. "Joshua, what are you doing here? What about being Tainted?"

"I don't care about whether or not you're Tainted! You're mission's over, so we can live together in my cave now!" Joshua exclaimed.

"No..." I moved closer to Lissa. "I'm assigned as her guardian. For life. And that's what I want to do, because she's my best friend."

"What about the other girl?" Joshua looked confused.

"What other girl?" I asked.

"The Alchemist. I thought she was your best friend." Joshua said.

"Sydney? I'll admit she's my friend, but not my best friend. She only likes me because I'm relatively less evil than she thought." I said.

"But Rose, I love you." Joshua protested.

"No offense Joshua, but I only think of you as a friend." Barely a friend. "And besides, I couldn't be with you either way. Remember what I said about Dimitri?"

"You really do love him, don't you?" Joshua frowned.

"Yes..." I nodded. "And I can't leave Lissa. We have a Spirit bond."

Lissa stared at me. "Rose..."

I elbowed her. Joshua didn't have to know we lost the bond.

Joshua looked sad. "Fine. I understand. But my family liked you. Especially Angeline."

Why wouldn't she like me? She only tried to kill me. "Thank you for understanding, Joshua."

I decided to be nice and give him a hug. He held on a little too long, so I had to force myself out of his grip.

"Goodbye, Rose." Joshua walked towards Court's exit.

"Goodbye, Joshua!" I called out guiltily.

Joshua turned to give me one last smile before leaving.

"You're a man magnet." Denis laughed. "You have Dimka, Rolan hit on you, the boy who just left liked you, and even a few members of our Strigoi hunting party said you were attractive. The first thing Nikolai said about you was that you were almost as pretty as Viktoria. And in his mind, that's a compliment."

"Shut up, Denis." I sighed as I walked off.

"Who's Rolan?" Lissa asked.

"The manwhore who got Sonja pregnant!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"You know about that?" I turned around to face him.

"Of course! She sent me letters before I was a Strigoi and she mentioned him!" Dimitri said. "How do you know him?"

"He was attempting to seduce Viktoria before I made a deal with Abe to keep Rolan away from her." I said.

"I'll kill him." Dimitri grumbled.

"Do you really want to go all the way to Baia just to kill Rolan?" I scoffed.

"Yes." Dimitri was dead serious.

I smirked at him and put on my best Russian accent. "You're so cute when you're angry, Dimka. However, Rolan is too afraid of Abe to go near any of your sisters now."

Dimitri's anger softened a little. "You really did that for my sister?"

"Of course I did. They practically adopted me as soon as they figured out I knew you, and I was considering staying in Baia until I made that deal with Abe." I said.

Dimitri's anger left him as he smiled.

"Speaking of which, Nikolai gives you his thanks." Denis said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because after you got rid of Rolan, Viktoria finally gave him a chance." Denis chuckled.

"Yes! Finally." I smiled. "I told her he liked her."

"Did you play matchmaker with my sister?" Dimitri arched an eyebrow.

"Why not? She did it to Christian and I." Lissa gave me a pointed look.

"Oh, come on. Even you have to admit Christian seemed shady at first, so it's not like it's a surprise that I tried to get rid of him. And I think I made up for it by trying to get you two back together when you guys were being stupid." I protested. "Besides, Nikolai's a nice guy. He's got that whole I'm in love with my best friend thing going for him."

"Are you sure you're Rose Hathaway? Because I remember you being much less girly." Dimitri teased.

"Dimitri, I nearly cried because I knew that as soon as I became a guardian I'd never be able to paint my nails again." I pointed out.

"True. And you acted very girly and vulnerable whenever you talked about our relationship." Dimitri considered.

Denis snorted. "I can't see that happening."

"Read the books." I suggested. "Unfortunately, I think it's all word for word out of my diary."

"Well, now that I know you're alive, I need to go back to Baia. Come visit us sometime, Rose." Denis smiled and turned to leave.

"I'll take that into consideration, Denis." I called out.

"Belikov! Ozera wants you back while he heads into the city!" Hans called out.

"See you later, Roza." Dimitri gave me a quick kiss.

"See you later, Dimitri!" I yelled after him. Then I turned my attention to Lissa. "So, why is Christian heading into the city?"

"Job opportunity." Lissa said. "Rose... why did Alberta know about Dimitri before I did?"

"I think we can both agree that her powers of perception are near magical." I smiled. "There were actually a lot of obvious signs that I'm surprised no one caught onto. Like why I was with Dimitri for so long between beating up Jesse in the woods and the attack on the school. And Alberta probably noticed when she realized that Dimitri kept defending me in front of the guardians and Kirova."

"If they were so obvious, then why didn't I notice them?" Lissa seemed mad at herself.

"If you want full honesty..." I considered my next words. "You were consumed by your relationship with Christian. I even tried to tell you a few times, but I either sensed that you wanted to talk about Christian and put your needs first, or you had to leave because of a date with him. Sorry, Liss."

"You were going to tell me, but I kept distracting you...?" Lissa looked guilty.

"Don't feel bad, Liss." I wrapped an arm around her. "That's what I'm supposed to do. As your friend, and your guardian."

"But it goes both ways." Lissa said. "I'm your friend too. I'm supposed to put your needs before mine too."

"But we don't live in that normal, perfect world. We live in the Moroi world. And you're the Queen." I smiled.

"I really hope that wasn't supposed to make me feel better." Lissa sighed.

"No. It's supposed to make you understand." I said.

Lissa smiled widely, showing her fangs. "When did you become such a philosopher? I've always thought of you as the reckless, less thoughtful kind of person."

"I think it has something to do with all this tragic death." I smiled. "It makes me think more, and I apparently have very beautiful thoughts hidden deep inside."

Lissa laughed. "I'm sure you do. Now, how about we go buy your diary?"

"Why, when you could just steal it from Hans for free? Or you could borrow Mia's set." I scoffed.

"I want a copy I can keep." Lissa said.

With that said, we headed into the closest town, Lissa's royal guard following behind us.

"You know, I understand why they have to follow us, but it makes me feel less capable of taking care of you. Because they can do it for me." I said.

"You're still my primary guardian, and this way you can hang out with me on the job." Lissa said.

"That's not the point." I sighed. "The only reason I didn't complain when Dimitri was your guardian was because I knew I wasn't your official guardian yet. And because he was hot."

"You'll get over it. With the way you are, it might take years, but you'll get over it." Lissa smiled.

I stuck my tongue out at her as we entered the bookstore. Thankfully, the other guardians stayed outside.

"You know, the designs for the book covers are pretty cool." Lissa picked up one of the books.

"I can take credit for those." I gave a halfhearted laugh. "I can even indirectly take credit for the titles."

"What do you mean indirectly?" Lissa asked.

"I didn't name different sections of my diary, but I did use all these words at least once." I said. "And I'm guessing that these aren't composed of my entire diary. Otherwise there would be either a few weeks or months of boredom between each of them."

"True. At least by some people's standards. You're never boring, just relatively less exciting." Lissa agreed.

"You know, these are a major invasion of my privacy. I'm surprised they aren't in the Moroi bookstore, though." I said.

"They could be. I didn't even think to check there. And I'm surprised that whoever published your diary let it get into the human world." Lissa shrugged.

"Assuming they did this because they don't like me, it's not hard to figure out." I scoffed. "And I can't think of anyone who likes me that would do this. Except for Abe. But even he wouldn't do this, seeing as how these books could incriminate him."

"I'm surprised there were no charges mentioned against him at the trail." Lissa said.

"I'm not. He has really high connections. And you're one of them now." I smirked.

"That really doesn't make me feel better." Lissa said as she brought the books to the register.

We payed for the books and walked out of the store.

"Now, if only someone had just published Sydney's diaries. I'd love to read those." I grinned.

"Why, because you want to understand why Alchemists hate us?" Lissa smirked.

"No, because I want to know how she went from barely being able to be in a room with me, to marrying Adrian." I laughed. "That is one of the most dramatic changes I've ever seen."

"Adrian is pretty persuasive. You should know that." Lissa said.

"Adrian was never able to convince me to be Mrs. Ivashkov. And I didn't think he was an evil creature of the night before I dated him. She had a polar change." I pointed out.

"True, but I'm betting you're more stubborn than she is. God knows you're more stubborn than everyone else I've met." Lissa said.

"Then you haven't paid attention to Dimitri. He's a tough nut to crack. Even when he wants to be cracked." I smirked.

We walked back into Court and the royal guard immediately dispersed.

"I'm going to go read. See you later, Rose." Lissa smiled.

"Later, Liss." I said.

Then I wandered off to my room so I could focus on who might've published my diary.


	3. Reunions

**Chapter 3: Reunions**

**Rose's POV**

I'd been studying my room and how someone could get in for a few hours. I'd also pondered who could have snuck in. Then there was suddenly a knock at my bedroom door.

I answered it to find Christian. "So, how was the job opportunity?"

"Lissa told you?" Christian guessed.

"Yep." I said. "So, how did it go? And what kind of job was it?"

"It wasn't the job for me. And I came here to see if you were okay. I heard from Dimitri that you guys were arrested this morning." Christian said.

"Yeah, but we were vindicated." I pointed out. "And why would you be worried about me?"

"Regardless of my attitude, I actually do like you, Rose. I think we've been through enough traumatic life experiences together to admit that freely." Christian smirked. "Besides, you're important to Lissa, which makes you important to me."

"Aw, you do have a sensitive side." I teased. "Seriously though, we're fine. I'm just afraid everyone's going to read my diary. Maybe they'll even... figure out I like you."

Christian rolled his eyes. "As if that's going to kill either of us. But out of curiosity, is there anything in there that Lissa wouldn't want other people to know?"

"The only thing I can think of is the romantic interludes I was pulled into. But I usually got myself out of her head before I really saw anything. And she might not like people knowing about what Avery convinced her to do." I shrugged.

"Anything else?" Christian questioned.

"I might've mentioned that she lost her virginity to Aaron, but wasn't satisfied with it. And I definitely would've mentioned what Spirit did to her emotions. So if it mentions anything about her compelling people to like her, she's going to temporarily sound like a vindictive bitch. But hey, maybe Kirova will finally understand that I didn't vandalize anything before we ran away!" I babbled.

"No one can really be mad at you since it was your diary, which meant no one else was supposed to see it, but... a lot of people who you know things about might get upset about everyone knowing those things too." Christian said.

"The worst things I mentioned were what happened to me, Dimitri, and Lissa. The worst it could do to anyone besides us is make Ardian realize he's not a victim, make Abe have charges pressed against him—which I'm sure he can fix—, and have my mom understand why I used to resent her. Besides, I wasn't completely sure of the things I accused people of." I shrugged.

"What about the party we snuck into that Tatiana and the other Moroi didn't want us to tell anyone about?" Christian raised an eyebrow.

"As if it would kill anyone to know that the Moroi secretly honor Dhampirs when they die." I rolled my eyes.

"You can justify anything, can't you?" Christian smirked.

"I've had a lot of practice." I said.

"I'm going to go see Lissa. See you later, Rose." Christian smiled.

"Bye, Christian." I said.

I decided to take a break from studying my room and headed back out to the grass. I immediately saw something unusual when I got there. The Alchemists who had come to haul Sydney off were back, but with more people.

"Tell me where she is." Sydney's father glared at a guardian.

"We don't keep track of Adrian and Sydney when they're here. We just make sure they stay inside Court so their sanctuary isn't broken." The guardian was Hans.

"Find her." Mr. Sage ordered.

"The only person who tells me what to do is Queen Vasilissa. Take it up with her." Hans glared.

"Dad, I don't even understand why you want Sydney so badly." An older, more rebellious looking version of Sydney said.

"She's committed multiple crimes among the Alchemists and we just added more to the list." Mr. Sage growled. Then he caught sight of me. "You! Rose Hathaway, the one who first corrupted Sydney and introduced her to the other vampires! Where is she?"

I scoffed. "I don't keep track of Sydney either. She just comes to see me when she's not busy. And from what she's told me, you and the Alchemists are the ones who corrupted her."

The older version of Sydney smiled. "So you're the unusual friend Sydney mentioned. She said she didn't know why, but she really liked you."

"Aw, Sydney does like me!" I smirked. "But she's recently started hating the Alchemists. I'm not completely sure why, but she mentioned something about reeducation..."

The older version of Sydney turned on Mr. Sage angrily. "You sent her through reeducation?! How could you?!"

"Carly, Sydney started sympathizing with vampires. She has multiple vampire friends and she even fell in love with one..." Mr. Sage tried to explain.

"Who cares?! They aren't that bad and Sydney should do whatever makes her happy." Carly said. "Are you going to send me to reeducation now, too? For saying they aren't that bad? Oh, that's right. You can't because I'm not an Alchemist."

"Sadly, Dad just enforced it. Zoe's the one who made the call." Sydney was standing behind me.

"Sydney!" Carly ran and hugged her.

Sydney smiled in a way that I'd only seen her smile around Adrian recently.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a cool sister?" I smirked.

"Never came up. Especially since I only recently admitted that we were friends." Sydney said.

"And now you're letting that Moroi boy bite you?! You really are turning into a feeder!" Mr. Sage exclaimed.

"For God's sake, it's not from Adrian's fangs. It's a hickey." Sydney rolled her eyes. "Don't you remember, when you hauled me off to reeducation... I told you you couldn't fix everything Adrian had done to me, because he's done everything to me."

Hearing Sydney say that was almost as shocking as knowing she was married to Adrian. I bit back a laugh.

"What new charges are lined up against me that would make you come back?" Sydney asked.

"You've been sympathizing with vampires longer than we originally believed. You've cared about Rose Hathaway since you met her. And you helped her because you liked her, not because you wanted the credit. And we'd also like to know what deal you made with Abe Mazur." Mr. Sage said.

Sydney laughed, almost hysterically. "You came here to find out what deal I made with Abe? Ironic that you brought Carly when you made that decision."

"Why would it be ironic?" Mr. Sage questioned.

"Because the deal was for her." Sydney smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Carly asked.

"I promised Abe Mazur that I'd do whatever he wanted if he'd stage a fake Strigoi attack that would take at least one of Keith's eyes out." Sydney grabbed Carly's hand, more serious now.

Carly's eyes widened. "Sydney... I'm happy that you were thinking of me, but that's extreme."

"Not as extreme as what Keith did to you." Sydney looked like she was tearing up. "And I kept my promise to you. I didn't tell anyone..."

"Keith never did anything to Carly! You just didn't like him because he questioned your loyalties." Mr. Sage was enraged.

"Keith did do something to me. Something I only told Sydney about." Carly turned deadly serious. "Remember that date you told me to go on with him? He raped me."

Mr. Sage's eyes widened. "He wouldn't..."

"He did." Carly said. "And that's why I didn't have a normal relationship until this year."

I felt really bad for Carly, but it made me respect Sydney a little more. "Yeah, vampires are the bad ones. You have a rapist for an Alchemist who you consider to be your pride and joy, but we're the bad ones. You and your daughter turn on your other daughter to send her to be tortured, but we're evil."

Sydney smiled at me. "Exactly my point."

"Sydney..." Zoe looked upset.

Sydney looked like she cared about her, but another feeling was mixed in. Resentment. "This is why I tried to stop you from being an Alchemist. Because once they tattoo you... they own you."

Carly looked confused as she stared at Zoe. This was a tricky situation.

"You heard Vasilissa the last time you were here. She's not going to release Mrs. Ivashkov to you." Hans stood his ground.

"Who's Mrs. Ivashkov?" Carly asked.

"Me." Sydney said. "I married a Moroi named Adrian Ivashkov."

Carly looked down at Sydney's rings, then looked up with a smile. "I always hoped you'd break away from Dad."

Mr. Sage stared at Sydney's waist curiously. "Sydney... have you gained weight? Are you..."

Sydney snapped. "I'm not having a baby! I just finally figured out that it's biologically impossible to be as skinny as the Moroi. Unlike what you tried to convince me of, I practically had an eating disorder. I could practically count my ribs."

"Is that why you only ate half of your food when I met you?" I asked.

"Yes." Sydney said.

"Are you calling my wife fat?" Adrian put an arm around Sydney. "And I assure you, she's not even considering children. She wasn't even planning on getting married for several more years. The only time I found her with a baby book, she was still a virgin. And she was picking a name for herself among her coven."

"Her what?" Mr. Sage questioned.

"Coven. Didn't you know Sydney was a witch?" Adrian raised his eyebrows.

"That explains the fire you started in your room." I laughed.

"Hi Adrian." Carly looked up at him.

"Hi Carly. How's college?" Adrian smiled.

"You know her?" Sydney looked confused.

"I met her when I was looking for the reeducation center." Adrian shrugged.

"I should kill you for what you've done to Sydney..." Mr. Sage looked inexplicably angry.

"Oh, come on. If there's one thing I think we can all agree to, it's that Sydney makes her own decisions. She avoided me for a long time before she let me date her. And Rose is a friend that you make by choice, because she has a magnetic personality. Not because she forces you to." Adrian scoffed. "And as for the whole witch thing, that had nothing to do with vampires. If you have to blame someone for that, blame Ms. Terwilliger. She's the one who introduced Sydney to it."

"Who's Ms. Terwilliger?" Mr. Sage looked confused.

"You really didn't study the staff at Amberwood, did you?" Sydney questioned.

Ian the Alchemist had to put his two cents in. "Sydney, why don't you just give yourself up now and..."

"Shut up, Ian!" Adrian and Sydney said.

"Honestly, Ian needs reeducation more than I do." Sydney said.

"What?!" Ian exclaimed.

"You're the one who let Sydney break into Alchemist headquarters." Adrian laughed. "If there's one thing you should have learned from movies, it's that a girl who's ignored you for years isn't suddenly going to hit on you. Even if she is wearing a sexy red dress."

Carly and I bit back laughter as Ian blushed.

"Stop talking about the dress." Sydney rolled her eyes. "The point is that I'm not going with you. I still have sanctuary here."

"Besides, Lissa's been listening in on this entire conversation and says she hasn't changed her mind." I lied.

"The Spirit bond only goes one way." Mr. Sage pointed out.

"Yeah, but Lissa's learned how to read minds, so she checks in on me constantly. Now leave before I convince her to punish you for intruding on the Court's private property." I bluffed.

The Alchemists reluctantly started leaving. Except for Carly and Zoe.

"Zoe, come on. It's too late for your sisters, but I can still save you." Mr. Sage said.

"No." Tears pricked Zoe's eyes. "I want to stay with Sydney and Carly."

Mr. Sage attempted to grab Zoe, but I stepped in front of the Sage sisters and Adrian defensively while Hans grabbed and twisted Mr. Sage's arm.

"I'll escort you out." Hans kept Mr. Sage's arm twisted behind his back.

"Thanks, Rose." Sydney said.

"All I did was trash talk and stand between you guys. I would've paid you to let me do that." I waved her off.

"You know, the reason I like you is because you remind me of Carly." Sydney smiled.

"Yeah, and I like you because you're an even more religious version of Lissa." I teased. "And she's already pretty religious."

Zoe stared at me uncertainly.

"I promise I won't bite. I don't even have fangs." I bared my teeth. "It's Adrian you might have to worry about."

"I don't know, Rose is the one who's considered a lethal weapon." Adrian teased.

"Only against Strigoi." I rolled my eyes.

"Lissa can't read minds." Adrian reminded me.

"No, but a very nice shadow kissed couple named Mark and Oksana can." I smirked.

"And you refused to introduce them to us." Adrian shook his head.

"I did not." I rolled my eyes. "I just didn't want to tell you guys until I left Baia."

"You might've left Baia, but it didn't leave you." Yeva's voice called from behind me.

I turned to see her and the other Belikovs. "What, are you not going to speak Russian?"

"What's the point? You and I both know I can speak English and you've already proven your worth to me." Yeva grinned.

"Who are they? And why do they all look like Dimitri?" Adrian asked.

"Adrian, meet the Belikovs." Sydney smirked.

"Rose!" Olena hugged me. "Where is Dimitri?"

"He got back from guardian duty a little while ago, but I haven't seen him yet." I said.

"Dimka and his duties." Karolina smirked.

"Dimka?" Adrian snorted.

"Don't start, Adrian." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on. I want to show Carly and Zoe where we live." Sydney started pulling Adrian.

Adrian and the Sage sisters headed for the living quarters.

"Can you call Dimitri to see where he is?" Sonja asked.

"Hold on." I grinned.

I dialed Dimitri's number and handed the phone to Olena.

Olena grinned. "Dimka? No, I'm not Rose using a Russian accent. Your mother. Dimka, just get down to Court's entrance."

"What did he say?" I smirked.

"I don't think he knows whether to be excited or prepare to see you by yourself." Olena laughed as she handed me the phone.

We giggled as we waited for Dimitri. When he saw his family, his demeanor changed from fierce to boyish. He ran and hugged his mother, spinning her around.

"Mother!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"I told you I was here Dimka." Olena laughed.

"Hey, what about us?" Karolina smiled.

"Yeah, hug us too." Sonja agreed.

Dimitri scooped the two women into a hug, careful not to hurt the children in their arms.

"Uncle?" Paul tugged on Dimitri.

"Good to see you, Paul." Dimitri knelt down to hug him.

"Don't forget Viktoria and I, Dimka." Yeva smiled.

"Of course." Dimitri gave Viktoria a hug and a kiss. "Vika."

"It's so good to see Dimitri." Olena said.

"Grandmother." Dimitri bent down to hug Yeva. "What are all of you doing here?"

"Rose doesn't let you see us enough, so we came to you." Yeva teased.

"Hey, I'd let him if he wanted to! I'd even want to go with him." I scoffed.

"It's not Roza. I've just been so busy lately..." Dimitri explained. "But I should have made more time."

"I know, I'm just teasing." Yeva patted Dimitri. "Show us where you live."

With that, Dimitri practically swept them up to our room.

"You live just down the hall from the Queen?" Viktoria looked around in amazement.

"That's what happens when you're her best friend and bodyguard." I said. "And when Dimitri is Christian's main guardian. Christian is Queen Lissa's boyfriend."

"You always call her Lissa, but I heard that her name is Vasilissa." Sonja said.

"It's a nickname. She and I have agreed that it sounded better ever since we were five." I smiled.

"It is catchy." Karolina said. "So... you and Dimka sleep in the same bed?"

The Belikovs all giggled.

"Roza said that you all guessed our relationship from practically the moment you met her. Is this really a surprise?" Dimitri rolled his eyes.

"No, they're just finding excuses to tease you." Olena smirked.

There was another knock at my door. I opened it to find Lissa standing with Mark and Oksana.

"Why are all my Russian friends coming to see me?" I questioned.

"So you do know them?" Lissa asked. "Because they say they have a Spirit bond."

"They do." I shrugged. "But Oksana can read minds, so it's almost like the bond goes both ways."

Lissa stared at her with jealousy. "Can you please teach me that? I'd love to know what Rose thinks."

"She's so blatantly honest that you don't need to read her mind. Trust me." Oksana laughed. "And I'm mainly here to see Rose."

"Actually, Lissa and Adrian would probably love to learn some things from you. They're both Spirit users." I said.

"Ah, the boyfriend you mentioned." Oksana nodded.

"Ex-boyfriend." I corrected. "So, is this a casual visit? Or something else?"

"I heard you lost the bond. But how?" Oksana asked curiously.

"I had another brush with death, but I healed myself without Lissa's help." I shrugged.

"Interesting." Mark nodded as he hugged me. "And it's good to see you, Rose."

"You too." I smiled.

"Rose, why does this Matryoshka doll look like an angry version of me?" Yeva held up a Russian nesting doll.

I grinned. "Not angry. Just you."

"Roza painted it to look like you. Just look at what's inside." Dimitri smirked.

Yeva opened doll after doll. The one after Yeva was Olena, then Karolina, Dimitri, Sonja, Viktoria, Paul, Zoya, and finally the baby.

"You painted us onto Matryoshka dolls?" Olena laughed.

"I get bored. And I like all of you. Except Yeva." I coughed the last part.

Yeva grinned. "Maybe there really is more to you than a pretty face, a vulnerable spirit, and a lethal drive."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" I asked.

"Yes." Dimitri smiled.

"What do you mean by vulnerable spirit?" I questioned.

"Even without reading the books, I know you have hidden vulnerability. You're just waiting for the right time to let it out." Yeva shrugged.

"Stop making predictions. The last time you did that, I had to listen to a human take credit for killing a Strigoi when all he did was distract it." I said.

"Come now, Rose. Even if Dimitri and Mark hadn't killed the Blood King, you could have still done it. And either way, my prediction would be correct." Yeva snickered.

"Blood King?" Lissa raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say that even my vacations turn into work." I sighed.

Mark and Dimitri grinned as Oksana rolled her eyes.

"Was Ivan really so bad?" Mark laughed.

"We sat in the car with him for two hours while he acted like he was superior to us in terms of vampire hunting skills. Do you even have to ask?" I rolled my eyes.

"Fair point." Mark agreed. "And it probably didn't help your mood when the Alchemist didn't think you were worth speaking to."

"Sydney?" Lissa asked.

"No, some British guy." I said.

"I'd like to speak with Queen Vasilissa!" A man's voice rang out in the hall.

All of the Belikovs' expressions turned sour, while Mark and Oksana looked unsure of what to say.

"She's down the hall visiting her friend." A guardian explained. "And she doesn't like to be bothered when she's with friends."

"I don't care!" The man stomped in our direction.

"Who is it?" I looked at Dimitri.

The man appeared in my doorway. "Queen Vasilissa... Olena? Dimitri..."

Dimitri looked as pensive as he was back when he tried to avoid his feelings for me. "Roza, meet Boris Zeklos. My father."


	4. Daddy Issues

**Chapter 4: Daddy Issues**

**Rose's POV**

"You're a Zeklos?" I asked.

Of course, the first thing I asked had nothing to do with why he was here. My first question was about his last name.

"My father might be a Zeklos, but I'm a Belikov." Dimitri was extremely tense.

I came to a sudden realization. "That's why you liked Ivan so much. Not the human Ivan, Ivan Zeklos. He wasn't just your friend and charge, he was your brother."

Dimitri smiled weakly. "Yes, he was."

"What are all of you doing here?" Boris regarded most of the Belikovs with surprise, but he just regarded Yeva and Dimitri with fear.

"I'm Queen Lissa's best friend. And Dimitri's my boyfriend. His family came to visit." I said.

"I didn't ask you." Boris glared.

I didn't like him. "That's nice. I'm the only one who answered you."

"Didn't they teach you Dhampirs to stay silent in the presence of Moroi? Especially royals?" Boris muttered.

"I'm a major exception to that rule." I snorted.

"Rose doesn't have to be silent. Even though I swear she's at her loudest at the worst times..." Lissa said.

"How are you Olena?" Boris tried to ignore me.

Olena put her head down in a way I'd never thought someone as strong as her would.

"Leave Olena alone, or Dimitri will beat you again." Yeva threatened.

"Why, because you can't do it yourself?" Boris taunted.

"I could. But I don't think you're worth what's left of my guardian skills." Yeva glared.

"Excuses. That's what you're best at, Old Woman." Boris smirked.

"But if you remember, I don't make excuses. I just do things." Dimitri stood in front of Boris.

Most Moroi were taller than Dhampirs, but Dimitri had a few inches on Boris.

"You don't scare me." Boris was obviously lying.

"A trained guardian in his twenties doesn't scare you. An ex-Strigoi doesn't scare you. But a thirteen year old boy does?" Dimitri smirked. "You are weak, Boris. Only a weak man picks a fight with someone who can't fight back. That's why I don't pick fights with you, I let you drag me into them."

Karolina, Sonja, and Viktoria had backed away in fear. I had a feeling they didn't fear much, but their fear of Boris was a childhood hangup.

"You were no Strigoi. That's a lie. Strigoi can't be saved." Boris denied.

"I was saved by Roza and Vasilissa. I was saved by Spirit. As much as I hate thinking about my time as a Strigoi, I never deny that it happened. I did horrible things, even to people I love..." Dimitri spared a glance at me. "Don't ever call my experiences a lie."

"We did save Dimitri." Lissa said. "And another Spirit user saved Sonya Karp. And another one saved a Moroi named Lee Donahue. None of this is a lie."

"It's all a lie!" Boris unsuccessfully tried to push Dimitri.

I grabbed Boris' arm. "You should know, I have no inhibitions about beating weaker men if they piss me off enough. And if you offend or hurt the Belikovs any further, I will beat you senseless."

Boris stared at me, wide eyed. "You wouldn't."

"Why not? Dimitri never said nice things about you, so I have no respect for you. And I'm not afraid of losing the fight because I've overpowered Strigoi stronger than Dimitri was. And trust me, Dimitri was a strong Strigoi." I threatened.

"What would you know about Dimitri as a Strigoi?" Boris scoffed.

"I'd know better than anyone. I searched for him for a long time just so I could stake him and save his soul. I spent three weeks in Hotel Hell while Dimitri went back and forth between taunting me as he drank from me and complimenting me when I was weak enough to believe him. I helped him stake his mentor before I escaped out the window. I had to run as he chased me through a maze and then the woods. I scaled a bridge over the Ob and nearly jumped off it so Dimitri wouldn't turn me. I thought I staked him, only to find out later that he was alive and coming after me. Don't question me." I put emphasis on the last three words.

"You lie." Boris pulled his arm away.

His denial offended me to the point that I punched him. He staggered backward, almost falling on Mark. I pulled up Dimitri's shirt, surprising everyone.

"See these two scars? This one is where I staked Dimitri. The one to the right is where Lissa staked him when she saved him. Scars don't lie." I said as I put Dimitri's shirt back down.

"That Dhampir hit me!" Boris yelled.

"Please, I've done worse. I beat up Jesse Zeklos and murdered Victor Dashkov. Consider yourself lucky." I said.

Boris ran past us and stood in front of Olena. "Tell Dimitri and the girl to leave me alone."

"I'll leave you alone if Olena tells me to. But I know she's not that weak." I said.

Olena looked up into Boris' eyes. You could tell even through her fear that she still had a small spark of love for him. Then she looked at her children's fearful faces, her mother's disapproving look, and then at Dimitri and I. She knew I wouldn't leave him alone unless she told me to.

"Mother." Dimitri said gently.

Olena looked into Dimitri's eyes, a silent message passing between them. "Go away Boris..."

Olena's response was so quiet I barely heard her, but it made me proud.

"What did you say?" Boris stared her down.

"Go away, Boris." Olena said a little louder.

He attempted to swing at her, but I grabbed his arm and Dimitri pulled him by the shirt collar.

"Don't touch my mother." Dimitri pushed Boris out of the room.

"Dimitri..." Boris started to get up.

"Leave. I don't care what you wanted to talk to me about. Just leave." Lissa ordered.

"No offense your majesty, but this isn't any of your business." Boris brushed himself off.

"Just because you say no offense, that doesn't mean it's less offensive. And everything in the Moroi world is my business." Lissa glared.

"Just get out, Boris." Oksana said.

"Or we can arrange for Baia to give you a dangerous homecoming." Mark threatened.

Boris reluctantly left. Then the Belikovs all hugged me.

"Thank you, Rose!" Viktoria said. "I'm so sorry for being mean to you. You were right about Rolan and it brought me closer to Nikolai. Thank you for getting rid of Boris!"

"Remember Viktoria, there is such a thing as hugging too tight." I wheezed.

Viktoria's grip only barely loosened.

"Honestly, we all hate Boris. Viktoria might just hug you for the rest of your life." Sonja laughed. "And you got rid of Rolan."

"Basically, we like you even more than before." Karolina smiled.

"Release her, girls." Olena said.

The three sisters released me.

"Thank you, Rose." Olena hugged me. "You're more special than you know."

"So are you." I said.

Olena was lightly pushed away by Yeva. Even though she was staring up at me, I felt like she was staring me down.

"Rosemarie Hathaway..." Yeva used my full name. "I liked you when I met you. I respected you when you brought Dimka back to us. And now... now I love you. I'm not going to repeat it unless necessary, but I consider you a family member in the fullest sense."

I grinned. "Are you going to stop using Paul as a translator?"

Yeva grinned. "Yes."

I bent down to hug the old woman. Yeva stiffened at first, but she hugged me back. The last person to come forward was Paul. He stared up at me for a moment, wonder in his eyes. Then he hugged me. It was pretty cute, since he was only half my size.

"I don't know Boris, but my mother said she was afraid of him. And you brought my Uncle back from the dead. Thank you, Aunt Roza." Paul said.

Karolina smiled at her son. The other Belikovs waited for my reaction.

I knelt down, becoming shorter than Paul. "I'd never let anyone hurt your family. I care about all of you. Even when you translated for Yeva and made me want to kick you, I liked you."

I'd never normally admit it, but I teared up a little. I had a new respect for moments like this that appeared in movies.

"Mother, I think I should introduce you to Christian Ozera." Dimitri hid his smirk.

"Not now, Dimka." Olena smiled.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." I walked into the hallway.

Lissa followed me out and smirked.

"If you tell Christian, or anyone else, I'll kill you." I said.

"What, don't you want people to know you have a soft spot?" Lissa teased.

"Shut up." I laughed.

"Admit it, Roza. You love children." Dimitri teased.

"Not another word." I insisted.

My phone suddenly rang. The caller I.D. said it was Sydney.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Rose, I need your help with something." Sydney said. "Can you please come help me?"

"Sure." I smirked. "Do you need my help covering a hickey?"

"Rose, please hurry." Sydney sounded upset.

"Okay, I'm coming. I promise." I hung up.

"Who was that?" Dimitri asked.

"Sydney. She said she needed my help and... she sounded like she was about to cry." I said.

"Perhaps the three of us should go?" Dimitri suggested.

"She only mentioned me, but... Sydney doesn't cry very often. I'm worried about her." I stated. "Let's all go."

Lissa agreed and we headed off.

I tried for an uplifting conversation. "You know, you just joined the club."

Dimitri looked confused. "What club?"

"The club of daddy issues. I have minor daddy issues, Christian has major ones, and Adrian has some. Lissa and Jill have some minor ones, and Sydney's family has them, plus you and your family have them." I bit back laughter. "Too bad you can't join the mommy issues club. That one is closed to only Adrian, Christian, and I. And my membership is slowly being revoked in both clubs."

"These aren't literal, right?" Dimitri questioned.

"Of course not." Lissa said. "I'd never join a club like that even if I do qualify."

"And Eddie? Is he in any of these metaphorical clubs?" Dimitri smirked.

"I choose not to ask Eddie about that stuff. I'm nice to him that way." I smirked.

Dimitri and Lissa rolled their eyes and smiled. As we reached Sydney and Adrian's place, I knew something was wrong. There was no noise, which meant Adrian wasn't being annoying. Something was really wrong.

"Sydney? Adrian?" I knocked.

"The door is unlocked, Rose." Adrian sounded panicked.

Something was really wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from opening the door. As we walked into the apartment, I realized what was wrong.

"The three of you need to get in and shut the door." Mr. Sage briefly pointed a gun at us.

I had a feeling that Dimitri would have ran straight to Mr. Sage and disarmed him if there weren't so many people at risk. He instead chose to do as he was told.

"Now move next to the others." Mr. Sage said.

We all moved next to Sydney, her sisters, and Adrian.

"What is this?" I asked.

"A way of eliminating all my problems at once." Mr. Sage explained. "Get rid of the corrupters and the corrupted."

"And then you'll be mercilessly killed by the Moroi. Great plan." I scoffed.

"No one will ever know it was me." Mr. Sage said. "I'll kill all of you, wipe the fingerprints, and frame one of you for murder-suicide."

"That doesn't work. Tasha Ozera tried to frame me after wiping the fingerprints, but she was still caught." I pointed out.

"Only because you broke out to find evidence and corrupted Sydney into helping you." Mr. Sage snorted. "Besides, she left loose ends. I won't."

"Jared, they'll still investigate further. The guardians and Moroi all know we're friends who wouldn't hurt each other and have no reason to commit suicide. We're all relatively happy." Adrian said.

"Not according to this letter I'll leave behind." Mr. Sage pulled out a piece of paper. "_I can't handle the intense agony anymore. I can't handle knowing that Lissa controls my life. I can't handle the accusing stares of Moroi who still think I killed Tatiana. My mother hates me and my father works both sides of the law. Strigoi everywhere either fear or want to hunt me. Adrian believes he's the victim of my happy ending, a victim of my love for Dimitri. The Moroi world is so tainted I can't live in it anymore. I can't look into Dimitri's eyes without thinking about his time as a Strigoi. He used me as a bloodwhore, an object of obsession, and worst of all... prey. I thought I killed him and saved his soul, but he came back. Tormenting me, hunting me... And when he was restored, he viewed Lissa as some kind of Goddess and me as yesterday's news. He was eternally grateful to her, but told me his love for me had faded. Those words haunt me, _I've given up on you. Love fades. Mine has_... He continues to toy with my emotions, treating me like a child, then a lover. Telling me he doesn't want me, then kissing me. What do I have to live for in this world? Protecting Lissa? Loving Dimitri? Both of those things translate into me being a pawn. Even the bond has left me, so I'm lonely and depressed. Instead of distracting myself with Lissa's latest emotions, I have to think about what I've done. Murdering Victor Dashkov. He was a friend and mentor, only to turn into an enemy and be added to my long list of dead friends. God help me. -Rose Hathaway._"

The creepiest part was... I'd actually say that in a suicide letter. But I'd never contemplated suicide. "You don't seriously expect anyone to believe that, do you?"

"Anyone who's read your books will. You've said all these things before. You just never brought up suicide." Mr. Sage laughed hysterically.

"You wouldn't shoot your own children..." Dimitri said.

"Try me, Belikov." Mr. Sage said.

"You wouldn't shoot an unborn grandchild, would you?" Sydney piped up.

Mr. Sage stared at her in shock. "He's fully corrupted you. Mind, soul... and now your own body."

"The baby is half human. You have to protect a human." Sydney insisted.

"Like you said, it's only half." Mr. Sage said coldly.

I wanted desperately for Jill to come to our rescue, but I wasn't sure if she'd sense Adrian's in time to send someone. Not without us dying first.

"Don't touch her." Adrian stood in front of Sydney.

Carly and Zoe stood in front of her as well.

"You go first, Belikov. After all, you're the one who caused Rose the most pain." Mr. Sage turned.

"No!" I pushed myself in front of Dimitri as a shot was fired. I'd been shot in the chest. Again.

"Rose!" Most of the room screamed.

"Roza!" Dimitri exclaimed.

Sydney jumped on her father, forcing the gun out of his hand.

"Roza..." Dimitri held me as we fell to the ground.

"I have time to say something this time." I laughed hysterically. "Dimitri... I love you and Lissa. None of those things in the suicide note were true, even if I said them at one point..."

My vision was tunneling as my body went numb. Since I'd specifically been shot through the heart, I had less than a minute to live.

"Roza, no... not again." Dimitri said.

"I love you Dimitri..." I cupped his face just before my arm fell.

A familiar blackness enveloped me as I saw the ghosts I'd blocked when I was Shadow Kissed. I was in the world of the dead. I was dead.


	5. The Bond

**Chapter 5: The Bond**

**Rose's POV**

Ironically, the world of the dead and it's ghosts faded into a white light, only for me to see... more blackness. But this blackness didn't have ghosts in it, so I guess there was some difference. I remembered feeling something like this before, but when?

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" Dimitri's voice flooded me.

"Yes. Her scars are gone and she's been breathing." Lissa said. "Besides, I've done this before..."

"Oh God, you didn't..." I groaned.

All of Lissa's emotions suddenly flooded me. Worry—for me. Anger—at Mr. Sage. Annoyance—with Adrian.

"So... did the bond reform? Or is it still neutralized?" Lissa asked.

I opened my eyes. "Why are you annoyed with Adrian?"

"So it did reform." Lissa said. "And Adrian tried to heal you himself, but I told him you wouldn't want to be in his head if the bond reformed. I figured that you'd rather be in mine if it worked again."

"You know, you don't have to let me die to say you want us to be closer. Letting me die means that you give love a bad name." I joked.

"She's fine." Dimitri breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"My room." Lissa said. "I figured it would shock the Belikovs a little too much if I brought you back to your room like this."

"I don't know. Olena treated me after a ghost attack." I snorted.

"Which is why they trusted me to be in here." Olena walked over and grabbed my hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." I admitted. "But it's better than how I felt after the car accident. I felt like I'd been hit with a truck for a week afterward."

"You were hit with a truck." Lissa pointed out.

"Not the point." I groaned. "And since I don't really have a gunshot wound, I'm not going to be confined to bed. I'm just going to sleep a lot."

"Just because you say it's voluntary, doesn't mean it is." Dimitri grinned.

"You have to lay with me this time. Last time I was shot, you were too afraid to lay next to me. It's not like you'll damage my internal organs this time." I stated.

Dimitri smirked. "Fine. But only because I don't want you to try escaping again. Last time you were shot, you attempted to escape out the window."

"I can't handle confinement." I smirked. "Besides, it wouldn't have been the first time I jumped out a window while I was injured."

"I know. I remember." Dimitri frowned as he sat on the bed.

"I wasn't talking about Hotel Hell. I was talking about the Academy. And when Lissa and I were on the run." I sighed.

"You jumped out a window when you were on the run?" Dimitri smirked.

"You'd be surprised at what the threat of being caught by psi-hounds will make you do." I shrugged.

"Not really. It was part of my training." Dimitri said.

"Galina made psi-hounds chase you?" I scoffed.

"Among other things." Dimitri shrugged. "It was actually fun."

"Yeah, like how it was fun when students got to test their skills at staking you." I rolled my eyes.

"It was. Mostly because most of them never got a hit in." Dimitri chuckled.

"Now I feel the need to stake Stan." I smirked. "Good times."

"The playful banter between you two." Olena laughed as she shook her head.

"If you think this is funny, you should have heard them at the Academy. It was like they lived for bantering with each other." Lissa smiled.

"I live to banter with everyone. My Dimitri banter is just funnier." I said.

"Lissa!" My mom's voice appeared as a knock came to the door.

Lissa opened the door to find my Mom, looking worried. "What?"

"Where is Rose?" Mom looked... frantic.

Lissa opened the door further so my mom could see me. She immediately ran across the room to Lissa's bed.

"Why did I have to hear about this from Hans?!" Mom exclaimed.

"Ugh, how many people know, Liss?" I groaned.

"The guardians, the Alchemists, and everyone in this room. Plus the people who were there. And Christian." Lissa said.

"Great." I sighed. "Honestly, I thought I died until five minutes ago, so you can't blame me."

"What happened?" Mom asked.

"I was shot through the heart by Jared Sage. To be fair, he was aiming for Dimitri, not me." I shrugged. "What happened after Sydney pounced on him anyway?"

"Jill sent reinforcements and he was arrested. Attempted murder of an Ivashkov, the Queen, and her friends doesn't bode well." Lissa explained.

"I guess not." I smirked. "Did Hans read the 'suicide' note? What did he think of it?"

"He said it sounded a lot like something you'd say, but he didn't know all that stuff happened to you." Lissa shrugged.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"A few hours." Lissa said. "Not too long."

"For God's sake..." Adrian pushed past a guardian as he opened the door. He froze when he saw me. "So...?"

"We have our bond back, Adrian." I rolled my eyes.

"Does it bother you to be in my head again?"

"The bond has never bothered me. I told you, it's like losing a limb when you lose it. And now you've restored that limb. Plus, not much has changed since I was last in your head. Except... Lissa!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Lissa looked startled.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I interrogated.

"Huh...?" Lissa thought for a moment. "Rose! Stop reading my mind!"

"I told you, even after learning to control some of it, it can still pull me in." I winced as I sat up. "When were you going to tell me?!"

"What are you talking about?" Dimitri asked.

"I'll give you a hint. I'm always a bridesmaid, never a bride." I said, deadpan.

Dimitri grinned at Lissa. "Christian told me about his plans for proposal. I just didn't know he did it."

"And you didn't tell me?!" I exclaimed.

"You would have told her." Dimitri said.

"Sadly, I'm actually good at keeping secrets from her. Mostly because I can read her emotions pretty thoroughly, even without the bond." I pointed out.

"Fair point, but I still think you would have said something." Dimitri smirked.

"Yeah, just like how I told everyone about our relationship. And how I told everyone about the bond. And how I totally would have told everyone about the jailbreak if you would have told me." I sighed with unenthusiastic sarcasm.

Dimitri frowned. "Roza, what's wrong?"

"I though I just told you." I groaned as I got up and hobbled to the bathroom.

When I got back out, Olena and Adrian were gone.

"Where did Olena go?" I asked.

"To get everyone out of our room." Dimitri said. "I think my sisters wanted to sleep there if only to be close to us."

"His sisters seem to really like you." Lissa commented.

"They acted like this back when they just thought I was his friend. I'm surprised it's not worse." I said.

Dimitri's phone rang. "Hello? Okay. We can go back to our room now, Roza."

"Okay." I walked to the door.

Dimitri picked me up as soon as I reached it and started carrying me the rest of the way.

"Put me down, Comrade." I said.

"No." He smiled.

"You're just doing this because it's the closest you'll get to carrying me over the threshold." I teased.

Dimitri smirked. "Actually, I'm doing it because you groan every time you move by yourself."

"Rose, I agree with Dimitri for once. Just let him carry you." Mom said.

"Hey, she called you Dimitri instead of Belikov! Isn't that a goal of yours?" I smirked.

"Unfortunately, I don't think your mother getting used to me will get you any closer to marriage." Dimitri teased.

My mom and Lissa gaped.

"To be honest, if you'd been liked by my mother a year or so ago, I would've dumped you. Probably." I said.

"Are you two... considering marriage? Seriously?" Lissa asked.

"He is. I'm not." I scoffed. "But since Yeva predicted it, I don't think he'll stop trying anytime soon."

"You two have only known each other a year." Mom pointed out.

"But we've lived a lifetime in it." I shrugged. "Besides, would you rather have me take Adrian up on his marriage offer?"

"When did Adrian offer marriage?" Lissa questioned.

"I'm not sure, because I still don't know if he was messing with his parents or not the first time he brought it up." I shrugged.

"You've only known Adrian a year, too." Mom said.

"I know. And who's the better influence, party boy Adrian or strict Dimitri?" I laughed as Dimitri set me on my bed.

"Strict?" He questioned.

"Back when you were an instructor." I clarified. "But you've actually loosened up since then."

"I think I'll just go find Oksana. I want to see what she can teach me." Lissa said.

"Go. The only thing I have to worry about is more hints at marriage and my mom scolding me for worrying her." I said. "Oh God, I just realized how normal that sounded."

"I thought you said we didn't live in a normal world." Lissa smirked.

"We don't. It just happens to have small factors of normalcy." I groaned.

"Whatever you say." Lissa grinned as she walked out.

"I kind of want to sleep off my pain now." I sighed.

"Is that my cue to leave?" Mom asked.

"No offense, but I was kind of hoping you'd take the hint." I admitted.

She rolled her eyes. "I'll leave now, but I'm coming back tomorrow."

"I was counting on it." I said.

She gave me a hesitant look before doing something unexpected. She kissed my forehead and left. She hadn't done that since she dumped me at the Academy.

"I think you and your mother are becoming closer." Dimitri smirked.

"Shut up." I threw my arm over my face.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He questioned.

"Why do you try changing me when you know I won't?" I muttered.

"Do you really want to sleep?" Dimitri snorted.

"I was actually thinking of something else, but that might give me a heart attack with the way the pain is right now." I sighed.

"You poor thing." Dimitri teased. "Goodnight, Roza."

"Goodnight, Dimka." I smirked.

Dimitri laid next to me after he turned the lights off.


	6. Discovery

**Chapter 6: Discovery**

**Rose's POV**

I woke up the next morning to find guardians in my room again.

"Seriously, do you guys ever knock?" I yawned.

"We didn't figure you'd be in your underwear after what happened yesterday. And it looks like we were right." Hans shrugged.

"Unless you're going to arrest me again, I don't think there's any reason not to knock." I pointed out.

Dimitri slowly came to consciousness. "Who... What's going on?"

"We have news." Hans said.

"What news?" I asked.

Hans handed me my diary. "We pulled some fingerprints from the diary. The only ones besides yours were... Queen Vasilissa's. She hasn't explained it yet, but she said she will once we get you and everyone else at Court into the courtroom."

My eyes widened. "How could Lissa's fingerprints be on the diary? She didn't know it even existed until after I came looking for it."

"I don't know, but we'll find out once we get to the courtroom." Hans shrugged.

Dimitri and I changed out of yesterday's clothes before we headed to the courtroom with Hans and the other guardians. When we got there, Lissa had a casual smile on her face and everyone else was speaking in hushed whispers.

"Liss, what's going on?" I asked.

Even Christian looked confused.

"I was just waiting for you so I could explain the fingerprints." Lissa grinned.

"Okay... so why are your fingerprints the only ones besides mine on the diary?" I asked.

"Because I stole it. And published it." Lissa said.

"What? Why would you do that?" I asked.

"Because she told me to." Lissa smiled.

"She? Who told you to publish my diary?" I questioned.

"Tasha. Tasha Ozera." Lissa said.

"Liss, Tasha was executed for Tatiana's murder." I reminded her.

"I saw her before that." Lissa laughed creepily. "I visited her in jail once before her trial. She told me to find something—like your diary—and expose it to the world."

"Why would you do anything she said?!" I exclaimed.

"Because I have to. I'm under compulsion." Lissa laughed maniacally. "I'm normally resistant to it, but a guard slipped her a charm that she used to strengthen the compulsion."

"Lissa... I'll find a way to get you out of the compulsion. But how are you still in it? Are you supposed to do something else to me?" I questioned.

"I can't be released until I've thoroughly humiliated you." Lissa smirked. "And thanks to Oksana, I can."

"Gah!" I gripped my head in pain.

I could feel the faint tingle of mind reading—like when Oksana read my mind—but Lissa was forcing her way in, so it hurt like hell.

"Liss, what are you doing?!" I exclaimed.

Dimitri and a few of my friends tried to come to my rescue, but they suddenly froze in place. Lissa was using compulsion too.

"I can make people see whatever I want with compulsion. So now I'm going to make sure everyone sees whatever embarrassing memories I can find." Lissa sounded insane.

I suddenly wasn't looking at the courtroom anymore. I was looking at the Academy.

_"Rosemarie Hathaway." Kirova called to me from down the hall. "Follow me to your class."_

_"Do I have to go mommy?" I was five years old again._

_"Yes." Mom knelt down. "Because you're going to become a guardian like mommy."_

_I started to cry, but she just gave me a kiss on the forehead and left. I followed Kirova down the hall until she lead me into a kindergarten class. I decided to sit with the girl who was all by herself. She said her name was Vasilissa Dragomir._

_"I'm going to call you Lissa, because it's easier to say." I told her._

_She smiled. "Okay, and I'll call you Rose."_

_The teacher tried to get us to spell our lengthy names, so I chucked a book at her and called her a fascist bastard. I didn't know what it meant, but it sounded insulting._

"That's not really embarrassing, Liss. Everyone remembers that." I clenched my teeth in pain.

The scene changed to Lissa's house. It was near the woods, and it was her sixth birthday. I wandered through the woods crying until she found me.

_"Are you crying because you got lost?" Lissa asked._

_"No, I'm crying because Jesse and Ralf were mean to me. They said I was an orphan and was lucky your parents were so nice to me." I'd been more sensitive then._

_"Jesse and Ralf are stupid. I can tell my parents to make them leave." Lissa hugged me._

_"No, I don't want them to know I cried. Guardians aren't supposed to cry or be afraid." I protested._

_"But you're not a guardian yet, and you're also my best friend. I'm going to make them leave my party either way now, and I can tell my parents that they made me cry." Lissa guided me back to the party._

_"No, tell them the truth if you're going to make Jesse and Ralf leave." I said._

_"Don't worry, Rose. I could never let anyone hurt you." Lissa promised._

_The scene changed again to when Lissa and I were twelve. We were having a sleepover. Andre passed by, giving me a grin. We didn't talk much, but I think he liked me because Lissa liked me. And because I'm a smart ass._

_"You know, Andre's kind of hot." I said._

_"When we were five, you said he was icky and annoying." Lissa said._

_"I didn't like guys when I was five." I shrugged._

_"As much as I would love for us to be related, please don't marry my brother." Lissa said._

_"You jumped straight from kind of hot to marriage. And you think I'm the crazy one?" I snorted._

"Okay, that's somewhat embarrassing." I admitted. "But who's going to care about a childhood crush on a hot guy?"

The next scene was one I didn't want to see. We were in the car with Lissa's family, laughing about something funny Andre had just said. Then we were hit. Lissa was thrown out her window, but she was relatively unharmed. I, on the other hand, was only thrown halfway out if the car and probably had a few crushed organs.

_"Rose!" Lissa shrieked as she scurried over to me._

_"Lissa..." I breathed out._

_It should have been my last word, my final breath. But as Lissa gripped my hand, begging me not to leave her, something changed. She'd used Spirit for the first time, healing me._

_"What just happened?" I coughed as I got up to sit next to Lissa. "What did you just do?"_

_"I don't know." Lissa was crying. "My family..."_

_I hugged her as we waited for help. At first, I thought I was feeling her pain as a type of sympathy pain. It wasn't until later that I realized we'd formed some sort of bond._

"Lissa, stop it! These memories aren't embarrassing, just painful!" I gripped my head.

"She told me to cause you pain and humuliation..." Lissa trailed off.

The next thing I saw was Ms. Karp warning me to run away with Lissa, attempting to use her super compulsion. The guardians had broken it as they dragged her off, of course.

"Lissa!" I exclaimed.

The next memory was of when she used her compulsion to make that guy beat himself up for what he did to the feeder. I'd begged her to stop, taken the blame for the guy's damaged room, and we'd run away not long after.

"Lissa!" Dimitri exclaimed.

Then we saw the things the Academy had done to get us back, like sending guardians. And of course, the psi-hounds Victor had sent after us—although we didn't know he did it until later.

"Lissa, stop." I clenched my teeth.

The next thing we saw was me letting her feed off me while we were on the run. She needed blood and I was her only available resource. Then it showed our first meeting with Dimitri. I hadn't known I'd been staring at him like that. Staring at him like I found him interesting. Then the way he defended me to Kirova and got appointed as my instructor.

"Lissa..." Christian trailed off.

_I was in practice with Mason and Eddie again. "Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."_

_Mason smirked. "This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."_

_I smirked back. "Oh yeah? Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."_

_Eddie laughed. "It's always a good time to think about you naked."_

"Good God." I groaned.

_"Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west campus." I teased Mia._

_She gave me the bitch glare._

"Lissa!" I exclaimed.

I was witnessing Lissa's first meeting with Christian through her eyes.

"Lissa..." Christian tried to fight her compulsion.

I watched Lissa make herself queen bee and get infected by her spirit darkness.

"Stop..." I groaned.

We were out shopping with Victor and Natalie, looking at what we wanted to wear to the dance. We'd trusted him.

"Lissa!" Mia tried to distract Lissa.

Lissa went for the embarrassing memory. Dimitri and I were under the spell of Victor's charm. Then we broke through it and realized what we were doing. We immediately went after Lissa.

"Stop it!" Dimitri demanded.

Now we were reexperiencing Victor's torture of Lissa.

"Stop it!" I screeched.

There were flashes of Mason, Adrian, Spokane, and my reactions to Tasha's attraction to Dimitri. Flashes of my mom's accidental hit, Strigoi, and Dimitri. Me beating up Jesse to save Lissa. My first time with Dimitri—thankfully, not in detail. Mason's ghost, the attack on the school, and the snow angels in the mountains. Everything was jumbled.

"Vasilissa, stop it!" Hans called out.

My mother slapping me into running. My world shattering as I learned Dimitri was a Strigoi. And then... my confrontation with Lissa.

_"It's not about you, okay? This time, it's about me. Not you. All my life, Lissa... all my life, it's been the same. They come first. I've lived my life for you. I've trained to be your shadow, but you know what? I want to come first. I need to take care of myself for once. I'm tired of looking out for everyone else and having to put aside what I want. Dimitri and I did that, and look what happened. He's gone. I will never hold him again. Now I owe it to him to do this. I'm sorry if it hurts you, but it's my choice!" I ranted._

"Lissa, stop it..." I begged.

Being turned down by Russian Dhampirs when I asked about Baia. Meeting Sydney. Traveling to Baia. Meeting Dimitri's family. Meeting Abe. My fight with Viktoria. Leaving Baia with the unpromised.

"Lissa..." I muttered.

Interrogating Strigoi in Novosibirsk. Seeing Dimitri in Strigoi form...

"Lissa, stop it..." Dimitri begged.

Waking up in Hotel Hell. Fighting back at first. Being bitten and turned into a bloodwhore.

"Lissa!" Adrian exclaimed.

Looking weak when I cowered in fear. Dimitri almost seeming normal. Yelling at Adrian in the Spirit dream. Seeing my bruises and realizing what was happening. Dimitri describing Strigoi senses in the maze. Regaining control of myself as I postponed Dimitri awakening me. Being threatened by Nathan and almost wanting to sleep with him. Dimitri yelling at me for being so weak with Nathan and his human.

"Lissa, stop..." Dimitri pleaded.

Figuring out Avery was a Spirit user. Me staking Dimitri as he kissed me. Running through Hotel Hell during my escape. Getting my stake back—kind of. Running into Galina. Galina and Dimitri fighting. Me foolishly going back to help Dimitri.

"Roza!" He'd called for help.

Jumping out the window as I left him behind. Running through the maze. Dimitri telling me to show myself, saying he wouldn't kill me. Saying he could smell me.

Using the ghosts. Dimitri following me onto the bridge.

_"There's no way we can both live in this world..." A typical cowboy line from him._

_"Then kill me!" I'd begged later._

_I'd begged for my own death. Then there was the bigger part._

_"We need to be together." He'd said._

_"Why?" I'd asked._

_"Because I want you." He'd replied._

_I gave him my sad smile. "Wrong answer."_

_I'd jumped over the edge. He'd pulled me back. We'd had a long conversation._

_"I will always love you." I'd plunged the stake into his heart._

_He'd wheezed, "That's what I was supposed to say..."_

"Please stop..." I started crying.

Going home. The threatening letter Dimitri sent me. Things continued flashing through my mind. His restoration. My controversies with Adrian. My slow newfound respect for Tatiana.

_"I've given up on you. Love fades. Mine has." Dimitri's haunting words._

The accusation of murder. Being behind bars. The breakout. Being on the run. Falling in love again. Proving what Tasha did. Jill. Losing the bond. Adrian accusing my happy ending of creating victims. Lissa being queen. Fragments of what I knew about Sydney's adventures. Finally circling back to this moment.

"Lissa, please stop." I sobbed. "Please..."

But Lissa was no longer in my head. She was gaping in horror at me. "Rose... I..."

At first, I thought she was horrified just with what she'd done. Then I realized I was lying on the floor, shaking. I was also sobbing and repeating, "Please... Please stop..."

"Roza!" Dimitri looked vulnerable too, but he was okay enough to rush to my side.

I couldn't stop shaking and begging Lissa to stop, even though I knew it was over.

"What's wrong with her?!" Mom demanded.

"Calm down and give her space. She's in shock." Olena explained. "She just went through all of her memories, and not only that, but I think some of those last ones are fear triggers for her."

I started mumbling incoherent thoughts. Or at least, I thought they were incoherent.

"What's she saying?" Lissa had tears of guilt running down her face.

Olena put her ear to my mouth. "Spirit darkness... Mason... Ghosts... Save Lissa... Get Lissa away... Save Dimitri's soul..."

Olena might have continued translating, but I suddenly shouted out, "NO, DIMITRI! Don't leave... Don't stay... No more blood drinking... Don't kill me... GET AWAY!"

"Dimitri, pick her up. Everyone else, move!" Olena commanded.

Everyone cleared the way to the doors as Dimitri carried me, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm not letting Rose out of my sight!" Mom insisted.

"Neither am I." Abe must have been in the room the whole time.

Lissa stood where she was in horror.

"Lissa, I know you feel bad." Christian prodded her. "But it's not your fault. And Rose is going to want you when she's okay again."

"Liss... Lissa... Vasilissa..." I rambled. "Dragon... Dragomir..."

Lissa followed behind as I was taken to the Court's hospital. A doctor had apparently followed us to the hospital now that everyone was free to go.

"Lay her down on the bed." The doctor said. "I need to take a look at her."

The doctor pulled out a flashlight and shined it in my eyes. I know my eyes followed it and acted normal.

"Moroi... Dhampir... Human... Strigoi..." I rambled senselessly.

"Alright, I'm just going to give you a sedative, okay Rose?" The doctor stuck a needle in my arm. "Just go to sleep so you can wake up feeling better."

I gripped Dimitri's hand for as long as I can remember, even after my eyes drooped.


	7. Recovery

**Chapter 7: Recovery**

**Rose's POV**

I woke up to Sonya standing over me. "Sonya?"

"Hello Rose." Sonya smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." I groaned.

"That doesn't sound like the tough Rose Hathaway I know." Mikhail teased.

"Tough Rose is on vacation. Meet Rose in pain." I said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"They came to get me in connection with Victor's murder, then they got a call about me being cleared. They said I was free to stay where I was, but I decided to check on you and my other friends. I was there during Lissa's compulsion yesterday." Sonya explained.

"Yesterday? I slept for a whole day?" I did feel wide awake.

"Yes, but you needed that time to heal physically. And for my healing charm to work." Sonya said.

I looked down to find myself wearing a silver necklace. "What happened to Dimitri? And my parents?"

"Dimitri was so worried he was giving himself a stress-induced fever. The doctors gave him a sedative and told your parents to take him home." Mikhail said.

"And Lissa?" I asked.

"The doctors considered giving her a sedative, but they didn't figure that would get them in the Queen's good favor. She insisted on staying in the waiting room." Mikhail explained.

"Can... can I see her?" I was nervous.

"I'll see if I can get the doctors to let her in." Sonya nodded dutifully.

When she was gone, Mikhail sat on the edge of my bed. "You know, we were all really worried about you."

"You guys don't have to be. I'm always okay in the end." I said.

"Are you kidding? Everyone I know either loves or marvels at you. Hans has a soft spot for you because you remind him of his daughter, Sonya feels that she owes you her life, and I owe you everything. You brought her back to me..." Mikhail wasn't typically sensitive.

"Neither of you owe me. Saving Sonya just fit into my plan." I said.

"But you didn't have to restore her. You could've just staked her when she didn't give you what you wanted. But you let Robert save her instead. And if you hadn't gone looking for Robert, even though he sounded like a fairy tale, Sonya and Dimitri would never have been restored. Rose, you touch people's lives in a way that helps them, saves them, and changes them. You don't think you make a big impact unless you're hurting someone, but you really do. If it weren't for you and Sydney, Adrian would still think he was a victim. You and Dimitri kept Lissa safe. You held Lissa and Christian's relationship together by nagging them about how stupid they were being. You defeated Avery from halfway around the world. You escaped a hotel full of Strigoi and instead of breaking down, you called Sydney for help. You broke into _freaking_ Tarasov prison and successfully escaped with a prisoner. You exposed Victor for what he was and made sure no one would be hurt by him again. You got rid of a womanizer to protect Dimitri's sister. You accepted the fact that Abe Mazur of all people was your father. You reformed a bond with your mother. You found Jill and made your best friend queen. You convinced Dimitri to love you by never giving up on that dumb Russian. And as I said, you saved Sonya and brought her back to me. You're the only person I know who can go through all that trauma and still come out a good, happy person who never gives up. You're more amazing than you know." Mikhail gave me the best pep talk _ever._

"I think you're going soft, Mikhail. You just gave me an emotional pep talk." I teased.

"Everyone has a soft spot for you." Mikhail smirked.

"They really do. Dimitri's entire family is waiting to see you in the waiting room." Sonya came in with a nervous looking Lissa.

"Liss, I'm not mad at you. I understand that you were under Tasha's control. As long as you don't have anymore orders from her, I think we're good." I said.

"Rose... it's not something you should just forgive me for. I exposed all of your most private and painful memories..." Lissa made excuses.

"Lissa, I don't care. Everyone was already going to read about most of those at some point in my diary now that it's been published. Besides, as you once told me, friends don't let friends get hurt. I'm not going to let you beat yourself up with guilt over something Tasha caused." I said.

"How can you do that? How can you just let things go so easily?" Lissa sighed.

"Because I've been trained to do it my whole life." I said solemnly. "And because you're my friend. Friends aren't supposed to stay mad at each other. Unless you sleep with Dimitri. Or kill someone I love. Then I might stay mad."

"As if I'd ever do either of those things. I'm not even attracted to Dimitri and we both know I couldn't hurt a fly. Literally." Lissa scoffed.

"How can you _not_ be attracted to Dimitri? Didn't you pay attention during that show with my memories? Mason and I even agreed he was like an Anti-social God." I snorted.

"Rose, we don't even like the same type of guy. I've always liked people who are like either Aaron or Christian. You've liked guys like Mason, Jesse, Adrian, Dimitri, and Andre. Actually, by that definition you're dating range is pretty wide. Mine is more close minded." Lissa pondered.

"No, you just don't date easily because you like the idea of true love more than I do." I said. "You'd probably date the same type of guys as me if they knew how to impress you. But since you've got Christian, I'm not too worried."

"Lissa, you shouldn't feel guilty. Rose obviously isn't angry, and you two end up in your friendly banter either way." Sonya said.

"We're doing it right now." I agreed.

"But I shouldn't have succumbed to her compulsion." Lissa protested.

"Liss, you could turn evil and destroy the world, and I'd still be on your side. Sure, I'd try to convince you to come back first, but I'd eventually go dark side if I thought you were staying on that side." I said. "Besides, Tasha used a charm on you. We can't control everything people make us do."

Lissa smiled. "You really believe that, don't you? You're really not mad at me? Or... afraid of me?"

"Lissa, I might be afraid of some of the things you can do, but I've never been afraid of you. Because I always know you're in there somewhere." I told her.

"You're the sister I never had." Lissa laughed.

"The twin sister you never had. But you've still got Little Jill." I reminded her.

"I know." She said. "I was planning on taking Jill out to do something later. But I have another problem..."

"What?" I asked.

"I always promised you could be my maid of honor, but Jill's my sister, so... what if she gets jealous of you?" Lissa asked.

"I still want to be your maid of honor, but Jill can be a big part of your wedding too. Let her work with whoever's planning it. Let Jill make decisions after you give her an idea of what you want. And make sure she's one of the bridesmaids." I said.

"You sound like a wedding expert." Lissa laughed.

"After being a bridesmaid at Sonya's wedding, it's not hard to figure out what to do." I shrugged.

"I'm invited, right?" Sonya smirked at Lissa.

"Of course... God, it's only been a few days since the proposal, and I'm already over-thinking the wedding." Lissa sighed.

"That's what every bride I know does. I might not have been to a lot of weddings, but I know quite a few brides who get paranoid as the wedding gets closer. Be prepared." I teased.

"That's not funny." Lissa said.

"It wasn't supposed to be. She was serious." Mikhail smirked.

"Can I see Dimitri now? As fun as this conversation is, I want to go see him. Or him to come see me." I pleaded.

"You should be okay as long as you keep the necklace on for a few days." Sonya shrugged.

Lissa helped me up and I walked myself out of my hospital room. The Belikovs made excited exclamations as I walked into the waiting room.

"I'm just going to see Dimitri. Please don't crowd me." I said.

"But we've been so worried about you..." Viktoria pulled me into a hug.

"I know, but I need to let Dimitri know I'm not rambling anymore." I said.

Viktoria reluctantly released me. "Fine."

"But you'll come visit us after you see Uncle Dimitri?" Paul asked.

"Of course." I smiled.

The other Belikovs only gave me brief pats of happiness at my health before I left. As I reached my room, I heard an argument.

"But I have to see her!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"Belikov, if we can't go see her, then neither can you." Mom said.

"Honestly, the doctors just don't want you to get another stress-induced fever. You'll be of no use to Rose if you're sick when she comes back." Abe sighed.

"Actually, it would give me a fun distraction. Taking care of a sick Dimitri." I walked in.

Dimitri hugged me tightly. "Roza, how are you?"

"I'm fine. Well, as long as I keep Sonya's necklace on." I said.

Dimitri looked at the silver charm. "You're sure?"

"Yes." I smirked. "You know I never stay down too long."

Dimitri kissed me. "I was worried about you."

"You always are." I pointed out.

Dimitri kissed me again and held me close. He seemed a little more affectionate than usual, considering my parents were in the room.

"I'm fine." I pulled back from him a little. "So, how much time are you taking out of your schedule for this, Old Man?"

"As much time as I want." Abe said. "My business is pretty self sustaining. As long as I go back at least every few weeks."

"Aw, Zmey does care about people." I teased.

"Zmey? Really?" Abe scoffed.

"Why not? Everyone in Russia uses it as your nickname. At least, that's what Sydney says." I shrugged.

"Zmey... Isn't that Russian for snake or serpent?" Mom deduced. "That's actually pretty accurate."

"Hey! What did I ever do to you?" Abe asked indignantly.

"You left me alone with a baby." Mom went straight for the hard hitting comments.

"Because you told me to. I even funded Rose's schooling." Abe protested.

They gave each other annoyed looks. All I could think to say was, "_You_ paid for the Academy? What did you use, blood money?"

"Of course not." Abe snorted. "I used blackmail money."

"Oh, dear God." I face-palmed.

"You certainly do use God's name a lot for someone who isn't that religious." Abe pointed out.

"Unlike Mom, I'm not an atheist. Besides, it's like I told Kirova, for all I knew you were Muslim. You have to let me follow my own path." I said. "Besides, I made a deal with him that I'd believe in him as long as he let me sleep in on Sundays."

"You're joking." Mom said.

"No, I really did. Besides, there are a few things that help my belief process." I glanced over at Dimitri.

"She even asked a priest about how ghosts work, and I think he gave her the most accurate information on the subject." Dimitri piped up.

"Do you have a particular religion?" Abe smirked, probably still thinking about my funny deal with God.

"I'm guessing Lissa's religion. But hey, you never know." I shrugged.

"Whatever works for you." Mom shrugged. "Anyway, what happens if you take the charm off?"

I looked at the silver necklace. "I'm not sure. Sonya just said to keep it on for a few more days."

Everyone was looking at it so curiously that I couldn't help myself. I took the silver necklace off. And I immediately felt the effects of it.

"Roza?" Dimitri said as I went silent.

"Mason... ghost... Lissa... Moroi... Adrian... victim... Abe... Zmey... Mia... bitch... Christian... angry... Tasha... deadly... Dimitri... Strigoi..." I muttered. At the last part, I started going into a panic. "Strigoi... Novosibirsk... Russia... Ob... bridge... stake... stake... STAKE!"

I really started to panic as I thought of the multiple times I'd staked Dimitri, never seeming to be able to kill him.

Dimitri immediately put the necklace back on me. "Don't take this off until Sonya tells you to."

I nodded in agreement as I shook off the residual feelings from what I'd just experienced. Then there was a knock at the door.

I opened it to find a person holding so many flowers he looked like a flower garden. "What the...?"

"Roses for Rose Hathaway." The guy said. As soon as he dropped the flowers, I realized he was a guardian. "You've apparently got a lot of devoted friends."

The biggest bushel was from Sonya. The others were from people like Jill, Christian, Mia, and Adrian and Sydney. There were even some from Eddie. And all of them had notes that generally said something to the effect of, _"We're sorry about what happened with your memories. And we had no idea you went through so much! Feel better."_

"These people drive me insane. As nice as this is, they _could_ just stop by to see me. There are enough flowers here for a wedding!" I rolled my eyes.

"That's not a bad thing." Dimitri said coolly.

"No." I said.

Dimitri's sympathy for me quickly changed to fierce determination. "For God's sake, Rose! How much is it going to take to marry you? You agreed there's no one else, I know you love me enough, and everyone's dropping even more hints than me! Sonya said that although she doesn't believe in soul mates, we still seem like a perfect fit! And Christian and Lissa have even been asking me when I was going to ask you. Even with the fact that your parents don't like the way our relationship started, even _they_ are half expecting us to marry. My family won't leave me alone about it, especially now that Grandmother predicted it, and they all love you! Then there's the fact that _you've_ even said that we've lived a lifetime within the last year and a half! And don't give me another excuse about at least waiting until there's a two in front of your age. When will you just agree?"

The sarcastic side of me had a lot of excuses to dish out. But the truth is... I didn't really have very many excuses. And the ones I did have... Dimitri wouldn't understand. I wasn't able to answer him, so I walked into my bathroom and locked the door.

Dimitri sighed. "Roza, what are you doing?"

Dimitri would only feel guilty if I told him why, and my parents of all people wouldn't understand either. When I didn't answer him for another five minutes, he persisted. "Roza, why can't you just tell me instead of hiding in the bathroom?"

My resolve finally broke and I started crying. It was obviously loud enough for Dimitri to hear, because he started to get worried. "Roza...?"

I knew I couldn't explain this to them, so I just continued crying about it. It was actually pretty sad for me of all people to lose my tough resolve. There was silence from the other side of the door for about five minutes after that.

"Rose?" Lissa's voice came from the other side of the door. "What's wrong?"

"Go away." I groaned.

"Rose, you're scaring Dimitri. And your parents are too afraid to ask you what's wrong. Can you at least let me in?" Lissa sounded worried.

I considered my options before deciding to move away from the door and let her in.

When Lissa saw the way I was sitting, she sat next to me and hugged me. "What's wrong? You normally just put up a fight about getting married, but this time you cried?"

"They don't understand why..." I sucked in a deep breath.

"Why what? Is there a reason you don't want to get married?" Lissa asked.

"I'm afraid..." I admitted.

It was like we were six years old all over again. I was admitting I was afraid.

"You're afraid of marriage? You're not afraid of Strigoi, death, or dangerous humans, but you are afraid of being Mrs. Belikov?"

Actually, the name had a nice ring to it. "It would actually be Belikov_a_. And that's not the only reason..."

I froze up. I'd never actually admitted this to anyone, mostly because I never thought I'd have to worry about it.

"What's the other reason?" Lissa asked tentatively.

"Remember... remember how I reacted when Paul was being cute? And remember that time when I encouraged that kid to ask Dimitri questions to prove he wasn't a Strigoi?"

"Yeah?" Lissa still seemed clueless to what I was implying.

"I... I like kids. But since we're both Dhampirs... we can't..." I trailed off.

Lissa's eyes widened. "I didn't think you wanted children. I knew you liked them, but I didn't think you wanted to have one."

"Dimitri will only feel guilty if I tell him that. And my parents aren't exactly going to understand." I put my head in my knees.

"But I do. And Dimitri won't feel guilty..." Lissa sounded unsure of that last part. "It's not like he can control genetics."

"No one can. For better or worse, no one can change genetics." I sighed.

"Have you considered... adoption? Or maybe artificial insemination?" Lissa sounded uncomfortable.

"In other words, you're asking if I've considered having someone else being my kid's dad because I can't procreate with Dimitri?" I rolled my eyes.

"You just made that sound horrible." Lissa said. "And what about the adoption idea?"

"No, I haven't considered adoption. I was preoccupied with considering marriage." I admitted.

"Our lives have really changed in the last year or so, haven't they?" Lissa sighed.

"We're like a bad soap opera." I agreed.

"Will you at least go out and tell him?" Lissa asked.

"Will you make my parents leave the room first?" I sighed.

"Sure. But what if they ask me about why you got so upset?" Lissa looked relieved.

"Just say you don't know. I'd rather be the one to tell them if they have to know." I said.

"Okay." Lissa agreed and helped me up.

I took a deep breath and headed out of the bathroom to explain things to Dimitri.


	8. Unexpected

**Chapter 8: Unexpected**

**Rose's POV**

My parents attempted many protests as Lissa lead them out of the room, but she persisted until the door shut behind her.

Dimitri stared at me for a moment before asking, "What's wrong, Roza?"

"I... I have two reasons that I've been using to not marry you." I said hesitantly.

"What?" Dimitri stepped closer and grabbed my arms.

"Well, I'm afraid for one thing..." I trailed off.

Dimitri laughed. "That's okay, Roza. Just talk to Sonya to see if she can help you with that."

I kept my head down. "The other reason is... I want at least one child, and Dhampirs can't reproduce."

Dimitri went silent and I looked up. He looked shocked, to say the least. Then guilt and sympathy crossed his face. "I didn't know... I didn't know you wanted children. That was completely unexpected for me."

"I'm sorry. It's not your fault." I sighed.

"Would adoption help?" Dimitri asked.

"Maybe..." I said. Then I felt a wave of sickness cross me.

"Roza, are you alright?" Dimitri looked concerned.

"I feel like I need to throw up. And I don't think it's because of the nervousness this conversation is giving me." I said.

Dimitri looked concerned. "Do you want me to get my mother? You could be sick, and she'd be more than willing to diagnose you."

"Sure. And while you get her, I'm going to spend some quality time with the toilet." I ran to the bathroom.

I apparently didn't have anything in my stomach to vomit out, but I felt more reassured kneeling over the toilet.

"Rose?" Olena opened the bathroom door. "Come out and I'll examine you."

I stood up and walked to sit on my bed as she asked me questions and gave me a physical examination.

"Did you vomit?" She asked.

"I haven't eaten anything since before yesterday, so there was nothing to throw up." I answered.

"Have you felt any nauseousness before today? Or any other symptoms?" She questioned.

"No. The only symptoms I've had were coming from Spirit, and Lissa's not feeling sick right now, but I still am." I said.

"Have you slept with anyone recently?" She asked casually.

"What does sex have to do with this?" I asked.

"Probably nothing, but I have to check out every possibility." Olena shrugged. "So, have you slept with Dimitri recently? Or anyone else?"

"I've never had sex with anyone other than Dimitri." I admitted with a blush. "And we have recently..."

Olena smiled. "Dimitri's the only one? Well, whatever is ailing you, I don't know what it is. The only thing that makes sense is pregnancy, but Dhampirs can't reproduce, and you haven't been with anyone else."

Pregnancy was the only possible option? Well, it was the only one Olena could think of. But I trusted Olena's judgement. Hm... "Could you excuse me a moment?"

Olena nodded and Dimitri stared as I walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To Lissa's room." I said.

I merely walked down the hallway and opened Lissa's bedroom door.

"You know, I could've been naked." Lissa teased.

"Funny, I said something similar to Hans. But I've seen you naked before, so I don't think it matters." I said distractedly. "Where do you keep your pregnancy tests? I know you have them."

Lissa arched an eyebrow. "What would you need one for? Dimitri can't gat you pregnant."

"I know. I just need to see one." I said.

"Have you been with someone else...?" Lissa questioned.

"Of course not. Now would you just tell me?" I sighed.

"In a box under the sink in the bathroom." Lissa said suspiciously.

I found one and peed on the stick. I waited in Lissa's bathroom for about five minutes. After they were over, I stared at the stick and said, "Dear God!"

"What?" Lissa called from her room.

I came out with a pale face. "I've got to go."

Lissa attempted to stop me, but I ran all the way to the hospital where Sonya was just leaving.

"Sonya, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked desperately.

"Sure, what is it?" She smiled.

"Are there any side effects to Dimitri being a restored Strigoi? Maybe something that doesn't create a vaccine, but it does something else?" I questioned.

"The only thing I can think of is that he can't be turned again. And that there's magic in his blood. Not that he can access like Sydney, but it's there." Sonya pondered. "Why?"

"Could that magic perhaps let him do things other Dhampirs can't? Like reproduce with another Dhampir?" I asked.

"We've never run any tests for that. Why..." Sonya's face flashed with realization. "Are _you_ pregnant?"

My face paled further, and Sonya appeared to be scrutinizing me. No, she was reading my aura. Her eyes widened in shock.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Rose, I need you to be calm when I tell you this." Sonya said. "You... you are pregnant. There's a budding aura around your stomach."

"How...?" I knew how. Something about Dimitri being restored gave him the ability to reproduce with me. Maybe it was that the lingering Spirit somehow made him more alive, and that somehow broke a genetic barrier?

"Can I take a sample of your blood? We could have it tested to be sure of what's going on." Sonya asked nervously.

I nodded numbly and let her take a vial of my blood. Then I headed back to my room and flopped on my bed.

"Roza, what happened?" Dimitri's face showed concern.

"Why did you turn pale and run out of my room?" Lissa asked.

"I'm pregnant." I stated flatly.


	9. Resolution

**Chapter 9: Resolution**

**Rose's POV**

Dimitri obviously looked pretty stunned.

So did Lissa. "But how...?"

"I can't give you children, and you said you haven't been with anyone else..." Dimitri tried to piece things together.

"Think about it, I've never been with anyone else. And if I'm remembering right from health class, these symptoms don't line up with when I was dating other people anyway. It lines up pretty well with the time after we started dating though." I explained. "And I told Sonya my theory about how maybe Spirit is causing this like a side effect."

"More like a miracle." Olena piped up. "I wasn't expecting biological grandchildren from you two."

"You know that once this news gets out, you'll either be accused of lying about only being with Dimitri, or everyone will treat you two like some kind of miracle." Lissa said.

"As if being followed around for being a restored Strigoi, super Strigoi-slayer couple wasn't weird enough." I muttered into my pillow.

Dimitri had been silent the whole time, but as I looked up, I saw childish wonder on his face. It was just like the look he gave Lissa when she restored him. "So, you and I can have a baby...?"

"Does that excite you? Or make you nervous?" I asked.

"Both." Dimitri grinned.

I had a sudden thought. "Pick your favorite boy's name. Maybe something other than your own."

"Alexander." Dimitri stared at me skeptically. "Why?"

"Huh, I didn't know that was popular in Russia. Cool." I nodded. "Then the girl is Lissa."

"Huh?" Dimitri was utterly confused.

"You just picked a baby name." I clarified. "I'd have just picked Christian, but it would be weird to name siblings after a couple."

"You're naming a child after me?" Lissa looked excited.

"No offense, but Janine and Ibrahim don't quite fit my image. Although, I might name another one Mason if we get that far..." I trailed off.

"Really?" Lissa laughed.

"Plus, Dimitri could name one after someone in his family. And I'd name one Sydney, but Lissa has to go first. And no offense, but I don't prefer Eddie and Jill—as much as I love those two..." I realized I was rambling. "Now I'm the one over thinking things."

"It's kind of adorable." Dimitri smirked. "But no children named Adrian, right?"

"Of course not. He's a great friend, but that would be awkward." I said.

"How many children are you planning on having?" Dimitri bit back a laugh.

"We'll worry about that later." I shrugged.

There was a knock at my door, so I opened it. Sonya was there.

"The test results cane back that quickly?" I questioned.

"Not exactly. We never ran official tests, but there was a major amount of magic in your blood. Like, more than the average witch or Moroi. The researchers sensed it as soon as I brought it in. There's more magic than the average Spirit user even has." Sonya explained.

"Does that mean that I can conjure up magic?" That didn't sound bad.

"I don't know. We think it's just the baby's magic running through your blood." Sonya shrugged. "Maybe you'll give birth to a new race. One that has magic."

"I wonder if the Moroi had a similar start...?" Lissa pondered.

"Don't confuse me. The question about whether the chicken or the egg came first still confuses me." I said.

Then my vision went weird, as if I were pulled into the bond. Except... I wasn't seeing through Lissa's eyes. I think I was looking at the inside of my stomach.

"Olena, does the inside of the uterus look small, pinkish red, and wet?" I asked.

"I believe so... Why?" Olena questioned.

"Because I think I'm looking at mine." I said.

"How...?" Lissa grasped for words. "Is this... is it like a Spirit Bond?"

"If we're going by the fact that it reminds me of the one I share with you, then yes." I admitted.

"This is going to be a weird pregnancy, isn't it?" Lissa sighed.

"Are you kidding? It's going to be a weird life." I corrected.

My parents walked through the already open door.

"What's going to be a weird life?" Abe asked.

"I have something important to fill you in on." I sighed.

"What?" Mom asked.

"This is going to be a long conversation." I groaned.


	10. Epilogue

**Chapter 10: Epilogue**

**Rose's POV**

About a month after my memories were exposed, Christian and Lissa got married. Jill was so excited about planning Lissa's wedding.

"As fun as it would have been to be the maid of honor, I really like planning the wedding and just being one of the bridesmaids." Jill whispered excitedly.

"Shh!" I admonished. "We're in the middle of the vows."

Dimitri smiled at me happily from where he was standing behind Christian. We'd been getting excited as our wedding date got closer. We were planning it for the next month, when I shouldn't have been showing too much yet. Having a baby bump at your wedding didn't look right even when people knew that wasn't why you were getting married so quickly.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace." The Moroi priest said.

Aaron tried to stand up, but Mia forced him to sit back down. They hadn't been on the best terms since their high school break up, but Mia agreed to go to the wedding with him to prevent him from doing something line this.

"He still likes Lissa?" Jill muttered.

"I think it's more jealousy than it is love." I smirked as I gave Aaron a threatening stare.

Dimitri and I had really agreed to Alexander or Lissa depending on whether our baby was a boy or a girl. Olena and the Belikovs couldn't wait for the due date, even though I was barely pregnant. My parents had been shocked, but they gave me congratulations nonetheless.

"I do." Christian said.

Everyone sat on the edge of their seats in excitement.

"I do." Lissa smiled.

Lissa and Christian kissed, making everyone break their silence and cheer excitedly. Christian was supposed to be coronated shortly after the honeymoon.

"Hey!" I grabbed him. "Good luck. And I'll still kill you if you break her heart."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Christian smirked.

I released him and hugged Lissa. "Don't repeat this, but you got a good one. Good luck with Christian."

Lissa beamed brightly as she was pulled off to the reception by Christian. When we got there, everyone was dancing.

Adrian tapped my shoulder. "Dance with your dummy?"

"Well, if you're willing to admit you're a dummy..." I got into position.

"I'm sorry. I was stupid for acting like I was a victim. I knew even before you left for Russia that you loved Belikov. And I was kind of expecting a reunion after he was restored. I was just jealous of him." Adrian admitted as we danced. "You're a special person."

"So I've been told." I smirked. "And it's good that we stopped dating. You found Sydney."

"I know. No offense, but I think she's more special than you." Adrian laughed.

"I'm not going to be insulted by that. No one person can hold this much awesome. There have to be two. And I think Sydney's the other one." I smiled.

"If only everyone knew how special she is. People are still expecting me to divorce her." Adrian sighed.

"If they don't already know, then they will now. I found a book series in one of the Moroi shops the other day, and it's all about Sydney. I think soneone published her diary too." I smirked.

"And you didn't say anything?!" Adrian exclaimed. "And who would want to do that to Sydney?!"

"I wanted to read them first. And it looks like someone stole your diary too. Most of them go back and forth between your's and Sydney's points of view." I smirked. "And I don't think it's Lissa this time, but whoever did it published them under the pseudonym Richelle Mead again."

"I've got to go tell Sydney." Adrian pulled away.

"Go ahead, Jet Steele." I teased.

"Shut up, Rose!" Adrian exclaimed as he ran off to find Sydney.

I entertained myself by watching Eddie and Jill dance. They're so cute when they're nervous. I also watched Mikhail dance with Sonya and Lissa dance with Christian. Adrian and Sydney even danced after he calmed her down about the diaries.

"You look happy." Dimitri smiled.

"I like that for once everyone I care about is happy." I said.

"Like your parents over there?" Dimitri nodded towards them.

My parents were dancing and smiling. Abe kissed my mom and she didn't pull back, so I took that to mean they'd probably date again.

"That's all the world needs. Another me." I laughed.

Dimitri pulled me into a dance. "I don't know. I like you."

"You tamed me. And I don't want my younger sibling having that kind of relationship with a mentor. No offense." I said.

"None taken." Dimitri laughed. "There was a reason why I held back my feelings for so long."

"So, are you ready for all that we have to do in life?" I asked.

"I'm never ready for anything with you. But I know I'll try." Dimitri smirked.

He pulled me into a kiss and I knew he was right. We were never going to be ready, but we could definitely prepare.


End file.
